Ammonium perchlorate is an inorganic chemical compound, as it does not contain carbon and hydrogen in its formula. However, many inorganic compounds can have hydrogen, like water, but only a few can have just carbon, like carbon dioxide. In this way, ammonium perchlorate belongs to this group of compounds, that are commonly created in laboratories by specialists and distributed by experimented companies like Aldebarán Sistemas S.L. Nonetheless, do you wonder how to create ammonium perchlorate?
Elements used to make ammonium perchlorate
As we said in the beginning, ammonium perchlorate is a chemical compound as it´s composed of different elements. The elements used to make ammonium perchlorate are the ones that follow:
- Ammonium: ammonium is a positively charged polyatomic ion created as a result of the reaction between ammonia and Brønsted acids. Also, ammonium cations can be found in salts like ammonium carbonate, ammonium chloride and ammonium nitrate. Sometimes, ammonium ions create an amalgam: these ions are produced by electrolysis of an ammonium solution.
- Perchlorate: perchlorates are chemical compounds that enclose the pechlorate ion in their composition. Most of perchlorates are salts and are created in laboratories with commercial aims. Their main use is as a powerful propellant and oxidizer (like ammonium perchlorate). We can find four different types of perchlorates: ammonium perchlorate, perchloric acid, potassium perchlorate, and sodium perchlorate.
Ammonium perchlorate can achieve different levels of purity depending on the methods practiced to create the substance. In Aldebarán Sistemas S.L., we always work with the maximum level of purity of the totality of our materials and substances.
Methods of making ammonium perchlorate
There isn´t just one way to create ammonium perchlorate, but different methods can be applied to the process of creation of this element.
One way of creating ammonium perchlorate is through the reaction that happened after mixing ammonia and perchloric acid (a kind of perchlorate, as stated in previous parragraphs). It can also be industrially produced by mixing ammonium salts and sodium perchlorate (another kind of perchlorate).
Process of making ammonium perchlorate
The industrial proccess to make ammonium perchlorate is quite complex, being needed special equipment and, above all, a high number of safety measures given the danger of this substance. Before explaining it, it´s neccessary to clarify some terms related to it:
- Anodic chamber: an anodic chamber is a system that mixes an ion-exhange membrane and a cathode electrode to specify the number of electron generation of specific elements.
- Cathode: a cathode is a negatively charged electrode.
- Anod: it´s the opposite of a cathode, as it´s a positively charged electrode.
We will explain the creation of this element taking as an example the method that utilizes sodium perchlorate instead of perchloric acid. The way ammonium perchlorate is created is by using a microbial fuel cell (MFC), a system used to drive electricity with the help of different bacterias and oxidants like oxygen so as to achieve the same reactions between elements that we can find in nature. In this chamber, the manufacturing process is this one:
- The first step in this process is introducing the sodium perchlorate in the anodic chamber (which is part of the microbial fuel cell) at the same time as water circulates through the cathodic chamber.
- Secondly, a cathod and an anod are sent to the anodic chamber to produce perhloric acid with the help of a mixture of sodium perchlorate and oxygen. Equally, an anod and a cathod are sent to the cathodic chamber with the purpose of creating the same element with the help of sodium hydrogen and hydrogen in this case.
- The reaction achieved after the second step is the formation of an ammonium perchlorate precipitate after neutralising the perchloric acid.
- Next, this ammonium perchlorate precipitate is washed in order to remove residual sodium perchlorate.
- Lastly, the ammonium perchlorate is dried.
The creation of ammonium perchlorate is quite complicated and should only be done by a team of experts. For this reason, Aldebarán Sistemas S.L. are a good choice, as we only work with products of the highest quality and purity, providing the best possible services to our clients and potential clients. If you have any kind of doubt about how we work with this substance, contact us!