What is Barium Carbonate?
Barium carbonate is a white solid precipitated from a solution of barium hydroxide and urea. The chemical formula for barium carbonate is BaCO3. It also occurs in mineral known as witherite and also prepared from barytes through precipitation. It is toxic in nature. It is also common in turquoise glazes. It should be kept under low quality below 20% and protective measure to be taken while handling the chemical compound.
Other names – Barium monocarbonate
| BaCO3 | Barium Carbonate |
| Density | 4.29 g/cm³ |
| Molecular Weight/ Molar Mass | 197.34 g/mol |
| Boiling Point | 1,360 °C |
| Melting Point | 811 °C |
| Chemical Formula | BaCO3 |
Barium Carbonate Structure – BaCO3
Physical Properties of Barium Carbonate – BaCO3
| Odour | No odour |
| Appearance | White crystals |
| Covalently-Bonded Unit | 2 |
| Specific Heat | 0.14483 |
| Complexity | 18.8 |
| Solubility | Insoluble in water, soluble in most of the acids. |
Chemical Properties of Barium Carbonate – BaCO3
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- Soluble calcium salts reacts with barium carbonate forms barium sulfate which remains in solution and calcium carbonate.
BaCO3 + CaSO4 → CaCO3 + BaSO4
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- Barium carbonate reacts with hydrochloric acid forming barium chloride and water and carbon dioxide.
BaCO3 + 2HCl → BaCl2 + H2O + CO2
Uses of Barium Carbonate – BaCO3
- Barium carbonate has many major commercial applications in the glass, brick, oil-drilling, ceramics, photographic and chemical industries.
- Used as a raw material for the manufacture of barium oxide (BaO) and barium peroxide (BaO2).
- Used as a rodenticide, its appearance is similar to that of flour which has been responsible for most unintentional barium poisoning.
- Barium carbonate is a white insoluble salt which finds its largest use in the ceramics industry in the production of ceramic products.
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