Barium Carbonate: Structure, Properties, and Uses

Barium Carbonate is an organic compound that precipitates from a solution of barium hydroxide and Urea.

• The chemical formula of Barium carbonate is BaCO₃.
• It can also be found in the known as witherite, which is formed by precipitation barytes.
• Barium Carbonate was discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1808.
• It is a highly toxic chemical compound found in rat poison, bricks, ceramic glazes, and cement.
• It should be kept at a low purity of less than 20%, and precautions should be taken when handling the chemical compound. 

Key Terms: Barium carbonate, Structure of BaCO₃, Chemical formula, Chemical compound, Organic substance, Density, Metathesis, Barium mono carbonates

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What is Barium Carbonate?

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Barium Carbonate is a white-coloured powder. It has a low water solubility.

• Except for sulfuric acid, it is soluble in most of the acids.
• The specific gravity of this substance is 4.275.
• If consumed, barium carbonate is poisonous.
• It is found in the mineral known as witherite and can also be obtained by precipitating barium hydroxide and urea.
• Barium ions and their soluble compounds can be harmful to humans.

Solubility of Barium Carbonate

In water, barium carbonate is almost insoluble.

• In carbon dioxide-saturated water, however, it is only weakly soluble (1:1000).
• In diluted hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, or acetic acid, the powder can dissolve easily.
• It is also soluble in ammonium chloride nitrate solutions. 

Small doses of water-soluble barium can cause breathing issues, high blood pressure, palpitations, stomach irritation, muscle weakness, alterations in nerve reflexes, brain and liver enlargement, and heart damage.

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Barium Carbonate Structure

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The structure of Barium Carbonate is shown below

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Preparation of Barium Carbonate

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Here are some different methods for the preparation of BaCO₃.

Carbonation Method

Following steps are followed below to make BaCO₃

• Carbon dioxide is first put through a barium sulphide solution to carbonise it.
• The desulphurization wash is applied to the barium carbonate slurry generated from this process.
• After that, it goes through vacuum filtration before being dried at 300°C.
• The final phase requires pulverisation before the production of barium carbonate products.

BaS + CO₂ + H₂O → BaCO₃↓+ H₂S↑

Metathesis Method

The Metathesis process involves a metathesis reaction between barium sulphide and ammonium carbonate, resulting in barium carbonate. To obtain bismuth products, the final product is washed, filtered, and dried.

BaS + (NH₄) 2CO₃ → BaCO₃ ↓ + (NH₄)₂S

Poison Nepheline Conversion Method

In this method, the soluble barium salt is made by reacting witherite with an ammonium salt.

• The ammonium carbonate produced is recycled and reused.
• This ammonium carbonate is then mixed with the previously produced soluble barium salt to produce refined barium carbonate.
• To create barium carbonate-based products, the resulting BaCO₃ is filtered and dried.

BaCl₂ + NH₄HCO3 + NH4OH → BaCO₃ ↓ + 2NH₄Cl + H₂O

Dry Granulation Method

The barium carbonate derived through heavy precipitation is sieved and stored in a raw materials warehouse.

• The mixture is then thoroughly blended.
• After that, the material is fed through a rotating feeder.
• The final product is compacted into tablets with a thickness of 3.7 to 4 mm using rollers.
• In the input granulator, the tablets are rolled into a sheet and the speed is regulated accordingly.
• This produces semi-finished products of barium.
• The semi-finished products are conveyed using a knife pulse pneumatic conveying method, after which they are sieved using a vibration feeder.
• Barium carbonate (BaCO₃) particles larger than 20 mesh are released by the granulator.

Wet Granulation Method

This method filters a cake containing barium-rich water using a precipitation system during the manufacturing process.

• The filter cake should be capable of controlling the water content at around 20%.
• The substance is then rapidly combined as it passes via the action of rotating blades.
• The mixture is then kneaded and mediated into semi-dense particles/wet pellets.
• The wet pellets are next sintered at 800-1200°C in the rotary kiln's direct fire.
• It is then filtered, iron-removed, weighed, and packed in barium carbonate particles.

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Uses of Barium Carbonate

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Here are some of the uses of BaCO₃

• In the ceramics industry, barium carbonate is commonly used as a glaze ingredient.
• Barium oxide (BaO) and barium peroxide are made from it as a raw material (BaO₂).
• It's a crucial component in the fabrication of magnetic components & fibre optical glass.
• Electronic ceramics, capacitors, PTC thermistors, and other sorts of electronic equipment are all made from BaCO₃.

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Physical Properties of Barium Carbonate

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Some physical properties of BaCO₃ are

• Barium Carbonate is odourless.
• The appearance of BaCO₃ is like a white crystal.
• The covalently bonded unit of Barium Carbonate is 2.
• 0.14483 is the specific heat of Barium Carbonate.
• The complexity of BaCO₃ is 18.8.

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Chemical Properties of Barium Carbonate

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Here is given below the chemical properties of BaCO₃.

1. Calcium carbonate and barium sulphate are formed when soluble calcium ions combine with barium carbonate to generate barium sulphate, which remains in solution.

BaCO₃ + CaSO₄ → CaCO₃ + BaSO₄

2. Hydrochloric acid interacts with barium carbonate to produce barium chloride, water, and carbon dioxide.

BaCO₃ + 2HCl → BaCl₂ + H₂O + CO₂

Commercially, barium carbonate (BaCO₃) is produced from barium sulphide by treating it with sodium carbonate (NaCO₃) at 60 to 70 ^oC (soda ash process) or bypassing carbon dioxide (CO₂) at 40 to 90 ^oC.

The soda ash method involves adding solid or dissolved sodium carbonate to a barium sulphide solution, and then filtering, washing, and drying the barium carbonate precipitate.

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Things to Remember

• Barium Carbonate is an organic compound that precipitates from a solution of barium hydroxide and Urea.
• The chemical formula of Barium carbonate is BaCO₃.
• It has a low water solubility.
• The appearance of BaCO₃ is like a white crystal.
• The Metathesis process involves a metathesis reaction between barium sulphide and ammonium carbonate, resulting in barium carbonate.
• Calcium carbonate and barium sulphate are formed when soluble calcium ions combine with barium carbonate to generate barium sulphate.