Aluminium because of its

low density , high tensile strength and resistance to

corrosion is widely used for the manufacture of airplanes ,
automobiles lawn furniture as well as for aluminium cans.
Being good conductor of electricity it is also used for
transmission of electricity . Aluminium is also used making
utensils. The recycling of aluminium cans and other
aluminium products is a very positive contribution to saving
our natural resources .most of the aluminium is melted and
recast into other aluminium metal products or used in the
production of various aluminium compounds , the most
common of which are the alums .Alums are
double sulphates having general formula

X2SO4.M2(SO4)3.24H2O . Where,

X= monovalent cation such as Na+ K+ NH4+, etc..

M= trivalent cation such as Fe Al Cr
3+ 3+ 3+

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SOME IMPORTANT ALUMS :

COMPOUND NAME : Potash alum

CHEMICAL FORMULA : K2SO4 Al2(SO4)3 24H2O
It is aluminium potassium sulphate. This is the type
of alum that you find in the grocery store for pickling and
in baking powder. It is also used in leather tanning, as a
flocculant in water purification, as an ingredient in
aftershave and as a treatment to fireproof textiles

COMPOUND NAME : Soda alum

CHEMICAL FORMULA : Na2SO4. Al2(SO4)3. 24H2O
Soda alum has the formula NaAl(S
O4)2·12H2O. It is used in baking powder and as an acidulent
in food.
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COMPOUND NAME Chrome alum
CHEMICAL FORMULA: K2SO4 . Cr2(SO4)324H2O
Chrome alum or chromium alum has the
formula KCr(S O4)2·12H2O. This deep violet compound is
used in tanning and can be added to other alum to grow
lavender or purple crystals.

COMPOUND NAME : Ferric alum

CHEMICAL FORMULA: (NH4)2SO4 Fe2(SO4)3 24H2O
Ferric alum is a less pure form
of aluminium sulphate. It is used in lower grades of paper
for loading and sizing purposes. Ferric alum uses bauxite as
the raw material. The raw material is cooked with sulphuric

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acid under suitable conditions. The resultant product is
sold in liquid form.

USES OF ALUMINIUM:
CONSTRUCTION:

A non iner really; aluminium is pretty much necessary in

construction work! From skylights to bridges and ladders to
railings, whether implemented as rods, doors or wiring, the
low maintenance and ability to paint, mould and join with
other materials leaves little reason to not consider it for
your chosen
project.
We see
aluminium
daily
without
even
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thinking about it, and undoubtedly the use of aluminium
angles, tubes and boxes in construction are just a few of its
biggest starring roles.

HEAT SINKS FOR COOLING CPU'S AND

GRAPHICS PROCESSORS :
The heavy thermal, corrosion and biofouling resistance of
aluminium alloys, plus its thermal conductivity, have made
them the key material of choice for most commercial heat
sinks.
These are passive heat
exchangers that cool a
device (typically a
microprocessor or
graphics card) by
dissipating heat from the
device to the

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environment. Heat sinks come in the form of the copper
foil of a circuit board or a separate device, and is attached
through a variety of methods including thermally
conductive tape or epoxy.

POWER LINES:
Aluminium's light weight and durability would make it an
ideal candidate for transporting energy across
long distances, but as a pretty poor conductor it needs to
be mixed with the properties of copper (which is normally
too heavy and expensive to do the job on its own), or better
yet, boron. The ability to withstand corrosion and general

６
lack of a need for a costly support structure is a plus, and
the aluminium alloys themselves are often reinforced with
steel - a true match made in metal heaven.

PRECISION TUBING IN MOTOR VEHICLES,

REFRIGERATORS, AIR CONDITIONING, SOLAR
PANELS ETC...
The use of pure aluminium is very rare in the commercial
world. Usually the non-ferrous metal is mixed with other
metals to create an alloy depending on the desired use.
When this comes to precision
tubing, the strong heat
transfer applications allow it
to be used extensively for the
automotive, AC and solar
market industries, as well as

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for carrying liquids or gases. It's been noted as being very
similar to plastic in how it can be worked upon without
breaking, and for being very widely recycled.

AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT:

To prepare a sample of potash alum from scrap

aluminium.

REQUIREMENTS:

 Funnel
 Beaker
 250ml conical flask
 Scrap

８
  Aluminium piece
 KOH, 6MH2SO4.

THEORY:

Aluminium metal is treated with hot aqueous

KOH solution . Aluminium dissolves as potassium
aluminate KAl(OH)4 salt.
2Al(s) + 2KOH(aq) + 6H2O(l) →2KAl(OH)4(aq) + 3H2(g)

Alum potassium aluminate solution on treatment with

dilute sulphuric acid first gives precipitate of Al (OH)3
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which dissolves on addition of small excess of H2SO4 and
heating.
2KAl(OH)4(aq)+(aq)→2Al (OH)3(s)+K2SO4(aq)+2H2O

2(s)+3H2SO4 (aq)→Al2(SO4)3(aq) + 6H2O(l)

The resulting solution is concentrated to near saturation

and cooled . on cooling crystals of potash alum crystallize
out.
K2SO4(aq)+Al2(SO4)3(aq) + 24H2O(l)→K2SO4.Al2(SO4)3.24H2O(s)

IMPORTANT REACTIONS:

 2Al(s) + 2KOH(aq) + 6H2O(l) →

2KAl(OH)4(aq) + 3H2(g)

 2Al(OH)4(aq)+H2SO4(aq)→2Al (OH)3(s)+K2SO4(aq)+2H2O

 2Al (OH)3(s)+3H2SO4 (aq)→

Al2(SO4)3(aq) + 6H2O(l)

 K2SO4(aq)+Al2(SO4)3(aq) + 24H2O(l)→
K2SO4.Al2(SO4)3.24H2O(s)
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PROCEDURE:

１１
 1.clean a small piece of scrap aluminium with steel
wool and cut it into very small pieces. Aluminium foil may
be taken instead of scrap aluminium.
2.Put the small pieces of scrap aluminium or
aluminium foil (about 1.00G) into a conical flask and about
50 ml of 4 M KOH solution to dissolve the aluminium.
3.The flask may be heated gently in order to
facilitate dissolution. Since during this step hydrogen gas
is evolved.
4. this step must be done in a well-ventilated area.
Continue heating until all of the aluminium reacts.
5. Filter the solution to remove
any insoluble impurities and reduce the volume to about 25
ml by heating.
6.Allow the filtrate to cool. Now add
slowly 6 M h2so4 until insoluble AL(OH)3 just forms in
the solution.

１２
 7.Gently heat the mixture until the AL(OH)3
precipitate dissolves. Cool the resulting solution in an
ice-bath for about 30 minutes whereby alum crystals
separate out.
8. For better results the solution may be left overnight
for the crystallisation to continue . In case the crystals do
not form the solution may be further concentrated and
cooled again.
9.Filter the crystals from the solution using a
vacuum pump, wash the crystals with 50/50
ethanol-water mixture. Continue applying the vacuum until
the crystals appear dry.
10.Determine the mass of the alum crystals.

１３
OBSERVATION:

Mass of aluminium metal =……………g

Mass of potash alum =……………g
Theoretical yield of potash alum =……………g
Percent yield =……………g

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 www.sciencestruck.com
 www.chemspider.com

 www.reaxys.com

 www.google.com
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