Iron (II) sulfate

 

Iron (II) sulfate
aka Ferrous Sulfate

Chemical formula	FeSO4
OTP appearance	green solid
Molar Mass(g/mol)	151.91
Density(g/cc)	3.65
Solubility in water(g/L)	295.1
Solubility in ethanol(g/L)	no
NFPA 704	1 2 1

Uses

Primary

• WHO LEM ("ferrous salts" for antianemia)
• Production of sulfur trioxide

Natural occurrence

• Heptahydrate occurs naturally as the mineral melanterite as well as several others.

Production

Extraction

• Iron (III) sulfate occurs naturally as melanterite
• It is possible to hydrate marcasite, producing a mixture of iron (III) sulfate and sulfuric acid

  2 FeS₂ + 2 H₂O + 7 O₂ → 2 FeSO₄ + 2 H₂SO₄

• It seems like this reaction should be sped up by zinc oxide:

  2 FeS₂ + 2 ZnO + 7 O₂ → 2 FeSO₄ + 2 ZnSO₄

See Also

• US patent 2242763 "process for calcining copperas"
  Link courtesy Google