3.1 Halogens - Making Chlorates by Electrolysis

It had been almost two entire months that I last uploaded a vid. Sorry about that - I was doing a couple of large projects just like this one that require several weeks to finish. Additionally, I have to do IGCSE classes and that took most of my time although it is easy.
Today we make potassium chlorate by the electrolysis of sodium chloride using graphite anodes. I know many people choose the combination of potassium chloride and MMO anodes, but I didn't have the money to buy the anode and I don't like the potassium chloride process because the potassium chlorate precipitates out instead of staying dissolved in the solution. However, sodium chlorate does not have this problem. Additionally, sodium chloride is much more friendly to amateurs to get.
EDIT: I posted a new Lab Notes video specifically about the "workup" part - extracting the chlorates from the electrolyte. It was a far better video than this one, so I recommend you go check it out: • Lab Notes - Making Pot...
Other great videos on the topic:
Nurdrage's guide to KClO3: • Make Potassium Chlorat...
Scrap Science's NaClO3 cell: • A Sodium Chlorate Cell
Thiosoi's NaClO3 rocket from salt: • How to Make a ROCKET E...

[@rashedusman9717]

Recristalising the chlorate would have made things much easier. Potassium chlorate disolves poorly in cold water and it's easy to dry at room temperature. Plus much purer potassium chloride could have been made by neutralising hidrochloric acid with potassium carbonate. On the other hand just using potassium carbonate directly would have made things simpler.

[@WildRapier]

I've worked at a chlor-alkali plant, our electrodes were steel with nickel oxide plating. If that's of any use to you. The electrodes were in contact with either 20% NaOH solution, or a chlorinated acidic brine solution. Held up well over 7 years! The lower the distance between the electrodes the lower amps you'll draw, maybe a few plastic(Teflon\Viton if you have it!) spacers(o-rings)? We averaged 4.5 A at 234 VDC per cell, but we had 120 and were drawing Megawatts, to give you an idea of the scale.

[@CatboyChemicalSociety]

That graphite performance and the fact these papers can be made DIY from expanded graphite means I can revive the boron doped graphite project which should be able to make perchlorates all the way from chloride.

[@geeljireoomaar6140]

Hi M.I.H, you forget to tell your audience that your sodium chloride is not iodinized. it is Kosher in North America Thank you for your informative and well constructed video

[@sion8849]

Good Video. Although the information is out there and fairly in depth, this is still a good video for beginners or people who are just interested in the process.

[@MIH0319]

Thanks! Hope this video helps many amateurs like me

[@CatboyChemicalSociety]

I want to know if those paper graphite anodes can be used for perchlorates directly or atleast as an alternative substrate for active coatings since they don't seem to corrode.

[@MIH0319]

I don't think so, because in general, graphite-based electrodes only go to chlorates, and you have to use other electrodes like PbO2 to go perchlorate

[@MIH0319]

Might give this a go though

[@MIH0319]

However, it might be good to act as a substrate

[@CatboyChemicalSociety]

@@MIH0319 yes I have succesfully made homemade PbO2 anodes and this graphite paper can probably be a good substrate. But I also wanna try boron doped graphite which is known to get to perchlorate by making expanded graphite then soaking in trimethyl borate and heating to 800C before recompressing into graphite paper.

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

​@@CatboyChemicalSociety that would be a simple route to perchlorates!

[@nadi_3305]

Very interesting that the graphite paper coud withstand the highly corrosive solution, where did you get it?

[@MIH0319]

Got it online. Pretty sure it is available in Ebay and Amazon

[@nadi_3305]

Thanks

[@hassantqatqa6165]

❤

[@mhadhadchanel7318]

is NaClO3 solution yellow ?

[@user-ev5uq7td7s]

@M.I.H Why is that PbO2 anode was failed, there are some video making chlorate with PbO2 and some website said that will work. How can I improve the PbO2 way?

[@MIH0319]

I don't know why it failed, but it seems like that the PbO2 coating on my electrode falls easily. The Pb under it then gets attacked by the chlorine. However, professional PbO2 electrodes are strong and does not fall apart

[@pvc988]

Fascinating. Why did it turn into a fish?

[@MIH0319]

The salt coated on the electrode like coating on the fish. I didn't take the picture of the electrode, so I used the fish to demonstrate... It was a bad metaphor though

[@karolus28]

@@MIH0319 lol

[@plyaskinLab]

Bro!

[@CatboyChemicalSociety]

Why didn't you just use the potassium carbonate directly

[@MIH0319]

Well I didn't want to add in another anion (CO32-) in the chloride-based solution so I thought that adding KCl might be better Will it influence anything if I added K2CO3 directly though?

[@CatboyChemicalSociety]

@@MIH0319 sodium and potassium carbonates are highly soluble so yea it will not produce any other precipitate and it will work just as intended

[@MIH0319]

If I run the cell continuously, the chloride ions would be consumed and I need to add NaCl. Also I need to add K2CO3 to precipitate out KClO3, but the remaining carbonate ion stay in the solution as Na2CO3 and accumulates

[@MIH0319]

So if I did several runs continuously, the Na2CO3 eventually will precipitate and contaminate my product

[@CatboyChemicalSociety]

@@MIH0319 you are literally using NaCl and hence no need to re use liquor. Also electrolysis of carbonates leads to it forming hydroxide as CO2 escapes.

[@oldold6636]

Your equipment sucks, cos you can't afford platinum anode.