What is chlorine and examples of its reactions

One of the chemistry topics that most relevant to everyday people is chlorine reactions and the uses of its compounds. It's not hard to see why - chlorine is one of the most used elements in everyday life, from its presence in rock salt to its use in plastic and rubber manufacturing. Therefore, you might be interested in what chlorine is, and some examples of its reactions.

Chlorine Definition and Uses

Chlorine is a halogen element, part of Group 17 of the periodic table. It has the atomic number 17 and has an atomic weight of 35.446 to 35.457 amu, and in its pure form, is a yellow diatomic gas that can be used as an irritant. However, if considering chlorine compounds, the element does have several key applications.

When thinking of chlorine, the first key application that people think of is the chlorination of water, usually in swimming pools, for treatment. The reaction of chlorination goes as follows: Cl₂ + H₂O → HClO + HCl. UV light is used as a catalyst for the reaction and ions are formed, mixing with the water.

After that, microorganisms in the water are killed by the acid penetrating their cell walls. The effectivity of this treatment is measured through the pH of the treated water, with the desirable pH level ranging from 5.5 to 7.5. Chlorination is usually a step undertaken by water treatment plants to reduce bacterial and other microorganism levels in public drinking water.

Aside from chlorination and its use in water treatment, there are other chlorine reactions and the uses of its compounds in applications like food, industry, medicine, farming, and other areas. Some examples are listed below.

Chlorine Reactions and the Uses of Its Compounds

Sodium Chloride

This might be the most familiar compound on the list. Sodium chloride (NaCl), or salt is most commonly used as a food condiment or a preservative, but it does have many other uses in industry. Any reaction between hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide will produce NaCl. This reaction is called neutralization: HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H₂O.

Aside from food uses, NaCl also has cleaning uses. It is used to remove stains, prevent mold, and even salting roads to prevent ice. In the medical field, it is used for eye drops, IV drips, saline injections, and nasal irrigation. In industry, it is used to produce plastic, paper, rubber, soaps, polyester, detergent, glass, bleach, and many other products.

Hydrogen Chloride

Hydrogen chloride (HCl) is a colorless gas at room temperature that has laboratory and industrial applications. It is formed through burning hydrogen in chlorine gas through the following reaction: H₂ + Cl₂ → 2HCl

There are other chlorine reactions that can form the chloride compound; treating sodium chloride (NaCl) with sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) at about 150 degrees Celsius, called the salt-cake process is one, for example - NaCl + H₂SO₄ ⟶ NaHSO₄ + HCl.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), HCl can be used for electroplating metals, cleaning, pickling, tanning leather, and producing many different products. Its importance in manufacturing ensures that a steady supply is always produced by different industries.

Ammonium Chloride

Meanwhile, ammonium chloride (NH₄Cl) is a white crystalline solid at room temperature. It can be produced through sublimation, with the following reaction: NH₄Cl → NH₃ + HCl. Alternatively, it can also be produced through a reaction with a base, such as sodium hydroxide: NH₄Cl + NaOH → NH₃ + NaCl + H₂O.

Ammonium Chloride is usually used for industrial purposes, specifically metalwork. It is used as a chemical agent that is used to clean workpieces by forming metal chloride. It is also an ingredient in cough medicine and is also used as a food additive. It can also be used as a source of nitrogen in fertilizers as well as an electrolyte in dry cells.

If these use cases are relevant to you, then you might want to buy chlorine. If you need to use it for household use only, then you can buy brands such as Clorox for retail. However, if you need to buy them wholesale, then you might want to look at websites such as echemi.com for wholesale chemicals. Echemi offers chemicals such as chlorine wholesale that can be used for the applications listed above. If you are interested, then you can look through this link for chlorine: https://www.echemi.com/searchGoods/pid_Rock21930-chlorine.html.