Can you use calcium chloride instead of baked epsom salt to make your solvents anhydrous?

I remember reading somewhere that MgSO4 was the best all-around drying agent(some can react badly with certain solvents), and that it had a one-to-one absorption rate in water.

I'm not too sure about Dried mgso4 being the best all round drying agent it could very well be.. but make sure you dehydrate is first dude..

Calcium chloride (anhydrous) is an excellent drying agent it will absorb moisture out of air.. sodium sulphate (anhydrous) is also a very good drying agent..

I have a feeling that Mgso4 is used mostly because it is easily accessible..

As for the one to one ratio.. if properly dried MgSo4 should be able to absorb many molecules of water i am not sure at what hydration level the mgso4 crystal is stable at, but for example, the mgso4 you buy over the counter is a heptahydrate, therefore it has already absorbed seven molecules of water to every mgso4 molecule.

MgSO4 is easily obtained, easily dehydrated/regenerated, and doesn't react with much. Anhydrous CaSO4 and Na2SO4 are also decent drying agents with similar properties.

CuSO4 has perhaps somewhat weaker drying power, but it has the advantage of changing color when it becomes hydrated.

CaCl2 is easily obtained, a bit harder to dehydrate (once it's absorbed considerable water), and forms complexes with many basic and neutral substances, like ammonia and alcohol. It's good for drying acidic materials, though, like HCl gas.

NaOH and KOH can be used for drying alkaline and some neutral materials. NaOH can be used, for example, to dry NH3 gas. NaOH/KOH can also be used to dry ether, and simple alcohols if you distill from them. But it'll make acetone (for example) self-condense, so it shouldn't be used for drying acetone.

Calcium oxide is an excellent drying agent for non-acidic substances, though impossible to regenerate without furnace-like temperatures.

ok, I am not a chemist so please bear wuth me but..

I know about the dried epsons but have oftentimes been curios about

using damp rid (what chem is it?) I have seen at the wallyworld for removing h2o

Would yhis be a viable item to use for metanol and acetone and other common solvents?

The stuff is supposed to really mop-up water

i am told(???)

Calcium Chloride...

quote:Originally posted by Lost Prophet:

Calcium Chloride...

prophet

that's jsut quicklime from the concret outlet then isn't it?

damned cheap but can it be used in place of

epsons?

for solvents anyways

That is the question

Swims posted this before but I still want to find out. Can copper sulphate be used?

Store brought CuSo4 is blue, but when its dry (annie hydro) its white, can this effect be used? It would serve as a indicator for H2o.

Swim was reminded not to use reactive chems to dry solvents, That must have caught someone out once.