Re: Chromalum

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From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 12/08/01-01:39:42 PM Z


On Sat, 8 Dec 2001, Ted Edkins wrote:

> Judy, I stand admonished for mentioning "that" book and writer. A good
> example of what you say is that I wrote the mail from home and when I got
> to work I looked up my chemical catalogues and found that chrome alum is
> not usually sold as the dihydrate but as the dodecahydrate ie not 2H20 byt
> 12H2O. This makes you wonder about other typos and mistakes. I promise
> never to mention that work again.
> Ted
>

Ted, you are obviously a gentleman & a scholar... now if you can come
up with a test for glyoxal...

But perhaps you'd be willing to help a lay person understand. What is a
dihydrate? Does that mean two parts of.... what? And a dodecahydrate???
Do you mean he's got the formulas themselves wrong? I don't find any
mention of those words in Scopick.

OK, you made me go to the actual book (ugh!), where I found formula for
chrome alum:

CrK(SO4)2 12H0

and at the end of the description: "Warning: See potassium alum."

Under postassium alum, was formula AlK(SO4)2 12H20 (as everybody
knows, imagine all numbers dropped a half line). It said under that:

"Warning all chromium compounds are extremely dangerous... etc."

My question is, does the Potassium alum have as much chrome as the chrome
alum? If so, why is it considered less lethal?

Judy


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