Many people think chemistry is rather boring, uninteresting, and excessively difficult science. Maybe partly they are right. Only our life without chemistry is impossible. She surrounds us everywhere. Chemical processes constantly occur in nature and are used by man in everyday life. For example, the hydrolysis of salts, which refers to the exchange chemical reactions of salt with water, plays a large role in our lives.
Where does salt hydrolysis occur in nature?
1. Chemical transformation of the earth's crust and mountain processes would not have been possible without such a chemical phenomenon as hydrolysis of salts. The crust contains a huge amount of sulfides. These salts are poorly soluble in water, but, as you know, water and stone wears away. Therefore, interacting with water on the Earth's surface, as well as in its depths at elevated temperatures, sulfides in the course of the hydrolysis reaction are converted to hydrogen sulfide, which is one of the main volcanic gases.
In addition to sulfides, rocks contain silicates - salts of silicic acid, and carbonates - salts of carbonic acid. The decomposition of silicon salts by water leads to the formation of metal oxides, and the hydrolysis of aluminum salts (aluminosilicates) over time leads to the destruction of rocks. Perhaps the most famous hydrolysis product among inorganic substances is malachite - a very beautiful ornamental stone of green-blue color.
2. The oceans - this is also the place where hydrolysis of salts is one of the main chemical reactions that occur in water. Due to this interaction of salts of magnesium carbonates and calcium with water, hydrocarbonates of these metals are formed, due to the presence of which sea water has a slightly alkaline environment. In such water, photosynthesis occurs in marine plants with great intensity, and marine animals grow and reproduce faster and better.
Where is hydrolysis of salts used in the household and human life?
- Complete hydrolysis of ammonium salts, such as ammonium carbonate and hydrogen carbonate, leads to the formation of ammonia and carbonic acid, which immediately decomposes into carbon dioxide and water. It is due to the formation of gas that this reaction can be used in the food and confectionery industry to give the test airiness and splendor.
- The hydrolysis reaction of aluminum salts is used to purify water. In fact, aluminum salts are clays, through which water is purified due to the fact that particles of dirt and harmful impurities are enveloped by the hydrolysis product of insoluble aluminum hydroxide and settle to the bottom. For the purification of water, the hydrolysis reaction of sodium carbonate or phosphate is also used.
- Hydrolysis of salts on an industrial scale is used to obtain a number of useful substances from non-food raw materials, such as protein yeast, dry ice, ethyl alcohol, glucose, etc.
- A person is faced with the phenomenon of hydrolysis constantly - during washing, washing, when washing dishes. Even the processes taking place inside us, for example, the digestion of fats, proceed by the hydrolysis mechanism.
But the phenomenon of hydrolysis can not only benefit a person, but also harm. So, for example, it brings a lot of problems to oil industry workers. Everyone knows that oil contains a certain amount of many salts and water. When oil is refined and heated above 250 degrees, a hydrolysis of magnesium and calcium chlorides occurs when interacting with water vapor. In this case, gaseous hydrogen chloride Hcl is formed, which is a rather strong oxidizing agent. It interacts with the metal from which the oil equipment is made and destroys it, causing corrosion. If this phenomenon had not occurred, then oil products would have been much cheaper.
I would like to believe that after reading this article, you will change your mind about chemistry as a science and stop considering it boring, uninteresting and unnecessary.