Magnesium sulfate electrolysis

[mattwilliams777]

Ok so i am doing a little thinking with different types of solutions and the flames they produce.

If you seperated a magnesium sulfate solution through electrolysis with a copper anode you would in return get a copper sulfate solution and a magnesium hydroxide precipitate

MgSO4(aq) + 2 H2O + Cu(s) → H2(g) + Mg(OH)2(s) + CuSO4(aq)

But do you think if i soaked wood pulp in the seperated copper sulfate solution then compressed the wood into logs if they would produce the same blueish green color flame?

The releasing and calming of the electrons makes me think so but im unsure. :shrug:

[mattwilliams777]

hahaha some replies would be nice please =]

[bakermargar]

I know that using electrolysis you can split things like water and salt but splitting salt can create toxic chlorine gas. but the main point is that splitting salt creates two substances- sodium hydroxide and chlorine gas. Can the same thing be done on magnesium sulfate(epsom salts) and what would the result be

[shiftgood2]

I have been pondering the electrlysis of magnesium sulfate for awhile. Indeed, it is a tough one to get down occationally. I cannot deduce your immediate desire for said results, yet, if you make one of the electrodes out of Lead Dioxide, or Carbon....and get that other electrode above (or below, as the case may be) the primer electrode (this enables the Lead Dioxide or Carbon electrode to get or recieve electrons without all that carbon (or Lead Dioxide) from getting into the electrolyte. In this, you will be on a better way to getting used to the Magnisium stuff- very funny stuff that Magnisium......certainly, you need to seperate these two electrodes by ANY means possible (I use an ordinary coffee filter and keep, as I said, one electrode above the other in that electrolyte). Again, this is not exactly what you wanted, yet doing this will bring you into more knowledge of Magnisium Sulfate electrolysis. Oh yeah, the electrolyte will be Magnisium Sulfiate (Epson Salts). I say this in lue of me drivng a slow vehicle and part time for more time.

John T. S.

[shiftgood2]

Epson Salts are cheap and nice to practice electroysis with. FUN,in fact, yet be sure not to get too much on your hands, My hands look older sence not using PLATEX DISH WASHING GLOVES (also I waisted some experiments using cheap tap water (so use GOOD TAP WATER). Anyway....There is no doubt that your Magesim sulfate with two good ol copper electrodes, ONE WAY UP on the the Mag. Sul solution, and ONE DOWN at th bottom of the solution (the bottom electrode is where you want to get the blue copper sulfate. A COFFEE FILTER to keep that Mag. white Milk of Magnisia goo from your blue copper sulfate at the bottom. So one does not stir or shake the solution and mix up that white stuff with the BLUE GOLD. hehe. Blue copper sulfate with WORK for that color YOU WANT soked into wood, paper wicks, straight up, or on rocks of cotton balls. Remember, DONT SHAKE THAT BLUE STUFF, NOR STIR [WITH THE WHITE HYDRATE] ... or no color.

i say this in liue of me driveing a slow loving (It says slow olnly) vehicle and part time for more loving in things for years. Praise the Alpha and Omego Point One.

[shiftgood2]

Seperation? I WANT MAGNISIUM as much as the mext person. Sheesh who doesn't? Yet, for all my experiments so far you got to Heat the darn thing in a little graphate crucipal (60.00 u.s.a. dollars to start with) to about 600 C or something (again ya need that oxygen and propane from Home DEPO (20.00 U.S. DOLLARS). Ya get allllll that stuff....LOTS OF FORMULAS CAUSE LOTS OF HAZARDS....and that is gonna cost you time. That is how you get the Magnisum out of the Magnisum Sulfate. If you only want to get the sulferic acid from the BULE GOLD of copper sulfate-that is SIMPLE AND CHEAP. Youtube has a site that shows the best way entitled "Experiment 2: Copper Sulfate to Sulfuric Acid." This is on Youtube. As for seperation yes, costly so far...yet, who knows, maybe you can figue out a electode THEY haven't yet. :)) Praise Love and time and PTL.

[jlendi]

Wen you use a coffee filter did you partion the cell with magnesium sulfate at the bottom or top?

[totallysuite]

I've had a great deal of success synthesizing Copper Sulfate from Magnesium Sulfate by electrochemical means in this way:

 

I fill a pint-size mason jar half way with a saturated solution of magnesium sulfate.

I place a cork screwed copper anode into the jar with electrical tape covering the part of the electrode that comes in contact with the top half of the cell.

I then place a small fluted coffee filter into the jar and clamp it to the mouth of the vessel to keep it suspended on the top half of the jar and fill the jar the rest of the way up.

It's important that the bottom of the filter and the top of the copper anode have enough separation that Copper hydroxide/oxide doesn't begin to form where the two "half cells" meet.

Using a ring stand with a clamp, i suspend a graphite cathode into the top half of the cell, taking care that this electrode doesn't touch the bottom of the filter paper.

With a 5V/1A power supply, i run the cell until the bottom-most-layer (about 4 hours)has turned dark blue(3 layers will eventually form: inside the filter paper on the top half will be opaque MgOH, the bottom will have the Copper Sulfate and there will be a thin band of transition layer above this and below the filter paper).

Next i siphon the bottom layer out into a flask and reduce it's volume over heat by half. after this cools to room temp, the remaining MgSO4 will cystallize and an even blue-e-er solution will remain. this is concentrated CuSO4 which i then also cystallize.

 

Notes:

 

There are two important reasons for using a saturated MgSO4 solution; the reaction in more interesting because precedes muuuuuuch faster than using a dilute solution so you see a colour change after about 15 minutes as opposed to several hours and having to run the apparatus for a full day before any significant amount of CuSO4 is detected, and since MgSO4 has a much higher solubility close to boiling than at room temperature, when you reduce it's volume by half over heat after you separate it from the cell it will easily crystallize when the solution cools to room temperature and it's solubility significantly drops.

So after siphoning the CuSO4 solution from the cell, take care to filter it before the reduction, and again after the reduction using a hot filtration method.

If you are unfamiliar with crystallization techniques, take the time to research it's main concepts on YouTube or through search engines.

When the cell is running and you are collecting your "blue gold" the cell should be at a relatively cool temperature. heat is the enemy of this reaction and will make the whole system unstable, but the friend of it's separation into purer form. I have not tried running the cell in an ice bath, but i have tried running it around 110F (which was a disaster).

 

Thanks to everyone else for their posts, which helped me develop this method over time. Let me know what you think, or tell me if I am doing something stupid.

[belovelife]

sounds like a fun experiment,