Calcium Chloride Dihydrate

[Patow]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking at starting to use Randy Holmes-Farley's (The Man!) 2-part dosing method, but am having a hard time tracking down the Dowflake brand locally in Canada.

I found a potential alternative for a VERY reasonable price and it is readily available. I was able to get the technical spec sheet directly from the company (who happen to be local as well).

For all you chemistry nuts, I'm wondering if you could review the following data and let me know if this is enough information to make an educated decision on whether this is safe to use? Does anyone have a spec sheet for the Dowflake brand for comparison?

Maybe Randy would even chime in if he has time.

Here is the data:

DESCRIPTION
Flake Calcium Chloride is a white, flaked, dihydrate calcium chloride product with minimum assay
77%.

APPLICATIONS
Food Industry……………………….Refrigerant/Heat exchange agent
Chemical Industry………………….Good source of soluble calcium
Oilfield……………………………..Drilling, Cementing and workover operations
Ready Mix Concrete……………….Accelerates set times
Snow and Ice Melting………………Highway and pavement de-icing
Soil Conditioning…………………...Road bed stabilization and salt remediation
Water Care…………………………..Source of calcium for pools and non-potable applications

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Chemical Formula CaCl2 - 2H20
Assay (CaCl2) 77%, minimum by weight
Bulk Density Approximately 50 pounds per cubic foot
pH 8 – 10.5, depending on concentration

TYPICAL PROPERTIES
Assay (Cacl2) > 77.0 %
Sodium Chloride (NaCl) < 4.0 %
Potassium Chloride (KCl) < 1.5 %
Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2) < 0.5 %
Iron (Fe) < .002 %
Heavy Metals < .005 %
Sulfates (As SO4) < .075 %
Water Insolubles < .05 %
Alkalinity (As CaCO3) < .20 %

TYPICAL SCREEN ANALYSIS
Screen Number :
4 (4.76 mm)………………………80 – 100% Passing
8 (2.38 mm)………………………75% Passing
30 (0.59 mm)………………………5% Passing

PACKAGING
20 kg, 35 kg plastic bags and 1,000 kg bulk bags. There is a variety of palletization and stow options.

Thanks!

Dave

 

[Fizz71]

I'd take this to the chemistry forum if I were you, although Randy will likely find it here.

Me personally I think 77% is a little low, but then again I used Preston Driveway Heat which is greater than 90% for only a short time.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I can't tell if it is adequately pure from that or not (things like ammonia or copper), and they won't have the data if you were to ask them.

What brand is it?

 

[Patow]

Hey Randy, thanks for the response. I figured it wouldn't be enough information, but was worth a shot.

Company/Product: http://www.selwarwick.com/en/produits/CdC-Chlorure_de_calcium.aspx

It's a Quebec based company, and as I said, the cost is right ($18.99 CDN for 20kg bag), and it is readily available at a store close to me. However, if I can't deem necessary purity, it's not worth the risk.

I spoke to a local company who is able to order the Dowflake product. As you have previously tested for purity, I'll go with this. Better safe than sorry.

Thanks as always, for your help!

I did mean to post this in the Chemistry forum, but obviously wasn't paying any attention at all. My bad. D'oh!

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If you try it, just go very slow at first.

 

[Patow]

At minimum, what would you consider to be impurities that would negate potential use of this product in a reef environment? Phosphate, Ammonia, Copper seem logical as these things can be fatal to livestock. Anything else?

I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. As always, I appreciate your patience with us non-chemists.

If I were to mix up a sample batch of this stuff as per your Recipe #1 directions, and use standard reef test kits for the "impurities" deemed absolutely avoidable (Ammonia, Copper, Phosphate), would this be a sufficient level of measurement to gauge whether this product is safe? I know these tests probably don't have the level of accuracy/precision required, but you never know. Or is this really something that should be left to a controlled lab-testing environment with substantially more precision?

Cheers,

Dave

 

[bertoni]

Our test kits don't measure low levels of copper, so that might be an issue. I'd leave it to a lab to test for the very critical possibilities, like copper and perhaps zinc.

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

is there a chemical supply house available to you?

the anhydrous stuff is expensive , but the regular 20% water stuff should be reasonable..and fairly pure

 

[sowellj]

I'd take this to the chemistry forum if I were you, although Randy will likely find it here.

Me personally I think 77% is a little low, but then again I used Preston Driveway Heat which is greater than 90% for only a short time.

The 77% may be the weight percent of calcium chloride relative to the dihydrate form.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

At minimum, what would you consider to be impurities that would negate potential use of this product in a reef environment? Phosphate, Ammonia, Copper seem logical as these things can be fatal to livestock. Anything else?

When I tested Dowflake for suitability, I tested the range of things shown here:

Purity of Calcium Chloride
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2004/chem.htm