Trying to grow Calcium Carbonate
In a beaker, I added 10grams of CaCl and added 250ml water to make ( I hope?) a 1.5% solution of CaCl. Then added 1 gram of NaOH to raise the pH to 12 ( again, I hope).
5v was then supplied using a graphite anode (+) and a carbon fibre cathode (-) .
An aquarium pump areated the solution ( provideing addtional CO2) at a rate of 200 l/h.
Now we wait and see.
Well, the pump is a little too energetic for the small size and quickly causes foam to fill the beaker.
After chatting with GPT I am told that I wildly over calculatedthe amounts of both CaCl and of NaOH!
here is their calculations ( I dont remember how I caculated my results 🤦♂️)
To make a 1.5% w/w (weight/weight) solution of CaCl2, we need to add 1.5 grams of CaCl2 per 100 grams of solution.
Therefore, to make a 1.5% w/w solution in 1 liter of water, we can calculate the amount of CaCl2 needed as follows:
Calculate the mass of 1 liter of water:
1 liter of water = 1000 grams
Calculate the mass of CaCl2 needed:
1.5 grams CaCl2 per 100 grams of solution
1.5 grams CaCl2 / 100 grams solution = x grams CaCl2 / 1000 grams water
x = (1.5 grams CaCl2 / 100 grams solution) x (1000 grams water) / (1)
x = 15 grams CaCl2
Therefore, we need to add 15 grams of CaCl2 to 1 liter of water to make a 1.5% w/w solution.
And for the NaOH
Calculate the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH-) needed to achieve a pH of 12:
pH = 14 - log[OH-]
12 = 14 - log[OH-]
log[OH-] = 14 - 12 = 2
[OH-] = 10^-2 M
Calculate the amount of NaOH needed to make a 1 liter solution with a concentration of 10^-2 M OH-:
NaOH + H2O → Na+ + OH-
1 mole NaOH produces 1 mole OH-
Molarity = moles / volume
10^-2 M = moles NaOH / 1 liter
moles NaOH = 10^-2 mol
Molecular weight of NaOH = 40 g/mol
mass NaOH = moles NaOH x molecular weight NaOH
mass NaOH = 10^-2 mol x 40 g/mol
mass NaOH = 0.4 g
Therefore, we need to add approximately 0.4 grams of NaOH to a liter of solution to raise the pH from 7 to 12, assuming an initial pH of around neutral. However, if the initial pH of the solution is different, the amount of NaOH needed may be different as well.
So, yeah… might try again.
