Ferrous sulphate: physicochemical properties, production, application
Ferrous sulphate is a chemical compound,It is extremely widespread in nature and widely used in various spheres of economic activity. There are two- and three-valence modifications of this substance. The first variety, also called iron vitriol, is an inorganic binary non-volatile compound having the formula FeSO4. Outwardly, this chemical compound representstransparent crystalline hydrates of light greenish-blue color, having a high degree of hygroscopicity and solubility in the aqueous medium. In the vacuum of FeSO4 decomposes with high intensity, complete decay occurs at a temperature of about 700 ° C.
Divalent iron sulfate serves as a widely used reagent, which at room temperature crystallizes from solutions in the form of FeSO heptahydrate4∙ 7H2O, which is a substancepale blue coloring. With prolonged storage, it is eroded, turning into a white powdery substance, and in the open air it gradually turns yellow due to oxidative processes. The weathering of iron sulfate is explained by the fact that there is one molecule of outer-sphere water in its structure, which easily leaves the crystal lattice.
Trivalent anhydrous iron sulfate islight yellow, paramagnetic, extremely hygroscopic crystalline substance of the monoclinic syngony. It is capable of forming orthorhombic and hexagonal structural modifications. Trivalent iron sulphate crystallizes well from various solutions in the form of a variety of hydrate compounds containing up to ten water molecules. When slowly heated, it turns into anhydrous salt, which decomposes well into hematite and sulfuric anhydrite at a temperature of about 650 ° C. Like many other salts of triply charged cations, ferrous sulphate forms alum, crystallizing in the form of pale violet octahedra. This substance is a good reducing agent for the Ag + ion, which has strong oxidizing properties. Trivalent iron sulphate, hydrolysis of which is observed during boiling of the solution in which it is contained, exists in nature mainly in jarosite (mineral).
In industry, this substance is produced inmainly as a by-product in metal processing plants from various pickling solutions used to remove scale from steel products. This substance can also be isolated by calcination of pyrites or marcasites with NaCl in air. Another way to synthesize this is by heating the iron oxide in the salts of sulfuric acid. In laboratory practice this compound is isolated from Fe (OH)2.
A lot of curiosity is caused by the fact thatferrous sulphate was discovered on Mars in 2009 by the "Spirit" spacecraft, from which scientists concluded that strong oxidation processes occur on the surface of the planet. Due to the very low density of this substance, the rover is so deeply bogged down in its deposits that it even touched part of the shell of deep layers of Martian soil.
On Earth, iron sulphateThe ability to hydrolyze along with aluminum alum is used as a flocculant in the process of purification of drinking water. Forming flakes of hydroxide, this chemical compound adsorbs many harmful impurities. Also, this substance has found wide application in medicine, where it is used as a curative and preventive remedy for iron deficiency anemia.
In the agricultural sector, iron sulphateare used for chemical land reclamation, pest control of cultivated plants, destruction of mosses, lichens, weeds and parasitic fungi. In horticulture, ferrous sulphate is used to feed fruit trees as a catalyst for the formation of chlorophyll. The most sensitive to the lack of this substance is apple, pear, plum and peach.
In industry, iron sulfate is widelyIt is used in the textile industry, where it serves as an important component of ink and various mineral paints. Also this substance is a good preservative of wood. Some so-called waste iron sulphate solutions are processed into insulating materials such as ferron and ferri-gypsum, which are a mixture of hydrates of this compound with various excipients.
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