Experiment 1: Recycling Aluminum Cans 1. Introduction Containers for consumer products came in various shapes and materials, modem beverage containers these days are usually composed of polymeric materials such as PETE or LDPE or aluminum, in the form of aluminum cans. Due to high consumption, waste that is created by the use of single-use packaging increases day by day where mountains of plastic waste form on the land and oceans. Between different packaging options, aluminum is one of the most indestructible materials which is used in metal containers such as soda cans and it is one of the easily recyclable materials. According to the United States, Environmental Protection Agency, 670 kiloton of aluminum was recycled in 2018'. Raw aluminum is obtained from bauxite by using a method called the Bayer Process. It is the most efficient technique among mining and purification methods of aluminum and as a result, itis the most used process for the production of aluminum metal. On the other hand, the energy used for production is much greater than recycling aluminum waste. As a result of high recycling, the average aluminum can contain 70% recycled metal. When the consumer throws aluminum cans into a recycle bin or trash can, itis collected and taken to a recycling plant. The aluminum cans go through a shredder and broken down into smaller pieces, followed by a re-melt process and ready to be used again as any shape®. Everyone has probably done recycling by sorting waste, rev conan puesta tl ure : Aluminum cars wag eco" reaction to recycle the aluminum in beverage cans by making “alum’oe > J” aluminium farce Lifecycle Figure 2: Schematic lifecycle of aluminum?, ‘Alums are ionic compounds containing a sulfate anion (SO."), a trivalent cation (e.g. Al, Cr, Fo), and a monovalent cation (e.g., K’, Na‘, NH.'). Evon though “alum” often refers to potassium alum, alums are named after the monovalent cation that they cary’. The alum which is going the be prepared during the experiment will be potassium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate, KIAl(SO«),].12H20, the most commonly encountered alum. Alum is widely used in the dyeing of fabrics, in the manufacture of pickles, in canning some foods, as a coagulant in water purification and waste-water treatment plants, gardening, and in the paper industry although high intake of aluminum derivatives can be harmful**. Aluminum is amphoteric, meaning it will dissolve in both strong, aqueous acids and strong, aqueous bases. Although aluminum is a “reactive” metal, it reacts only slowly with dilute acids because its surface is normally protected by a very thin, impenetrable coating of aluminum oxide (A(OH)3). 2Alis) + 6 H*igq) —P 2AM aq) + 3 Hag) 2 Ais) + 6 H20ip + 2 OH(ag—> 2 ANH) jag) + 3 Hyg Alkaline solutions, or bases, dissolve the oxide layer and then attack the metal. Thus, in an aqueous alkaline medium, aluminum is oxidized to the tetrahydroxoaluminate(I!) anion which is stable only in basic solution. 2Alig) + 6 H20ip + 2 KOH(og) —S> 2 KIAUOH)aIaq) + 3 H2iq) In this experiment, aluminum can scrap is going to be reacted with KOH according to the previous reaction and be treated with sulfuric acid (HSO.). When sulfuric acid is slowly added to the resulting alkaline solution of the initial product, a portion of the acid acts to neutralize the excess potassium hydroxide. As additional sulfuric acid is added it starts to react with aluminum derivative and one hydroxide ion is removed from each potassiumtetrahydroxoaluminate(|!I) causing the precipitation of white, gelatinous, semi-solid aluminum hydroxide, Al(OH)s. 2 KOH aq) # HzSOx(oq) —> KzSOa(aq) + 2 H20 in 2KLAMOH)s]jaq) + H2SO«(oq) —P= 2 AUOH) 345) + K2SOzjaq) + 2 H2O(y Precipitated Al(OH)s is also amphoteric and wil re-dissolve when more acid is added, ZAMOH)ai6) + 3 H2SOx(og) —P 2 Al yg) + 3 SO. aq) + 6 H2O ea) The aluminum sulfate solution also contains potassium ions from the previous steps and crystals of the double salt K/Al(SOs)2].12H.0, or alum will form upon cooling this final solution since the solubility of alum in water decreases as the temperature is lowered”. Al(SOs)ajaq) + KeSOgiaq) + 24 Haq —e 2 KIANSO,);].12H20 (0) If the equations for the above steps are combined, a single overall equation that represents the overall chemical conversion of aluminum to alum is formed, Z Ala) + ZKOH(aq) + 4H2SOgiaq) + 22 H20(y) —we 2 K[ANSOg)2]-12H20(.) + 3 Haig) 2. Safety ¥ Students must always wear safety goggles and a lab coat. v_ KOH and H,SO, can cause permanent eye damage. Y Ifany KOH and HeSOs spills on you, rinse immediately under running water for up to 15 minutes and report the accident to your instructor. Wear gloves, chemicals that you are going to use are highly alkaline and corrosive and ‘can burn your skin easily. ¥ Exercise special care while hydrogen, a flammable gas, is being formed. Watch your reaction mixture at all times. Do not let the volume of the heated solution decrease too much. 3. Procedure 3.1. Materials -80-25 mL Graduated Cylinder -KOH ~100 mL Beaker -9 MH-SO. ~100 mL Erlenmeyer -%95 Ethanol -Glass rod -Aluminum can “Funnel -Heater Filler paper and fiter flask -Ice bath -Sandpaper Plastic dropping pipette -Spatula ~Scissors3.2. . After most of the metal has dissolved, the fizzing Preparation of Alum Clean the coatings on the can by using sandpaper and weigh about 0.5 gram of aluminum, cut them into small pieces. Discard the excess pieves and the remainder of the can. Weigh 2.1 g KOH and dissolve in 25 mL of water in a beaker. Work in 2 furne hood! Add the aluminum pieces to 1.5 M KOH solution in the beaker. Set the beaker on a hot plate and turn the dial to medium-high. Heat the mixture for about 30 minutes to dissolve as much of the aluminum as possible and stir frequently in order to keep the metal pieces from floating to the top of the froth. If necessary, add water to keep the volume constant. Hydrogen gas Is formed during this stop and itis a flammablo gas. around each piece should stop. There may still be some undissolved solids present, such as paint and varnish particles. Turn the hot plate off and gravity filter the hot solution through filter paper in a funnel to remove undissolved particles. Rest the funnel in the funnel holder and collect the filtrate in a 100 mL Erlenmeyer and cool to room temperature. Acidify the solution slowly by carefully adding 10 mL of 9 M H:SO. in 2-3 mL portions. with continuous stirring. Caution! Considerable heat is generated by this reaction. A precipitate of aluminum hydroxide, Al(OH)s, will form during the initial addition of acid; however, this solid will re-dissolve upon further acidification. If any white lumps remain after the addition of all the sulfuric acid, gently heat the mixture, with stiring, until the solution becomes clear. Remove the heat and lel the solution cool down for a few minutes. Prepare an ice bath and place the cooled Erlenmeyer in the bath til crystal formation. Crystals of alum should slowly form in the Erlenmeyer. If there is no crystal growth, stir the solution and scratch inside the Erlenmeyer with a glass rod or add seed crystals. Cut the fitter paper as a circle to fit in the filtering funnel, tare weight it, set-up a filter flask, and filter your crystals. Allow the liquid to drain completely and then wash out Erlenmeyer with 10 mL of 1:1 ethanol-water solution to completely transfer any crystals still eft in it. Pour the mixture over the crystals and air dry the crystals. Weight the filter paper with crystals and subtract the tare to find the weight of the crystals. By using the chemical equations and weighted mass calculate the efficiency of the procedure, 4. Questions Q1: What is the definition of amphoteric? Can you give more examples about it? Q2: According to the reaction below, if 75.3 grams of Al is reacted with enough KOH and water, how many grams and liters of hydrogen gas would be generated at STP? 2Alia) + 6 H20ip + 2 KOH(oq) —P 2 K[AMOH)a]iag) + 3 Hxy) Q3: A 63.5 g sample of alum is heated to dry off all the water from the solid. Determine the mass of dehydrated solid. Qs: ZAlig) + ZKOH aq) + 4H2SOa¢aq) + 22 HzO) —se 2 KIAUSO4)21-12H20(6) + 3 Hzig) 4‘According to the reaction above, how many mL of 1.55 M KOH is needed to react with 8.95 grams of Al? 5, References a) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) () United States Environmental Protection Agency. National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling hitps:/www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about- materials-waste-and-recyclinginational-overview-facts-and-figures-materials (accessed Mar 2, 2021), Schlesinger, M. E. Aluminum Recycling Economics. In Aluminum Recycling; CRC Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1201/b16192-7. Hulamin Recycling. Aluminium’s Lifecycle https:/www.hulamin.com/about/aluminiums- lifecycle (accessed Mar 2, 2021). Austin, G. T. Shreve's Chemical Process Industries, 5th ed.; McGraw-Hill: New York, 1984. Darragh. K. V.: Ertell. C. A. Aluminum Sulfate and Alums. In Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2003. https:(/doi.org/10.1002/047 123896 1.011221 130401 1818.a01.pub2. Liu, J.; Fan, L. Qualitative and Quantitative Determination of Potassium Aluminum Sulfate Dodecahydrate in Potato Starch Based on Terahertz Spectroscopy. Microw. Opt. Technol. Lett. 2020, 62 (2), 525-530. https://dol.ora/10.1002imop.32061. Narayanan, H.; Youngquist, G. .; Estrin, J. Nonuniform Solution Growth of Potassium Aluminum Sulfate. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 1982, 85 (2), 319-331 https://doi.ora/10.1016/0021-9797(82)90002-9. Aluminium Insider. Recycling Rates of Aluminium Cans Rises to 72 Percent in Great Britain https://aluminiuminsider.com/recycling-rates-of-aluminium-cans-rises-to-72- percent-in-great-britain/ (accessed Mar 2, 2021),