Ammonium carbonate

 

Ammonium carbonate
aka spirit of hartshorn

Chemical formula	(NH4)2CO3
OTP appearance	white powder
Molar Mass(g/mol)	96.09
Density(g/cc)	1.5
Melting Point(°C)	58
Boiling Point(°C)	decomp
Solubility in water(g/L)	250
NFPA 704	0 0 0

Uses

Primary

• Precursor to ammonium chloride, the precursor to all other chlorides

Secondary

• Pharm: Smelling salts

Natural occurrence

• Does occcur naturally

Production

Extraction

• Extracted from Spirit of hartshorn, which also contains ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium carbamate

Storage

• Decomposes at OTP

  (NH₄)₂CO₃ → NH₄HCO₃ + NH₃ // step 1

  NH₄HCO₃ → NH₃ + CO₂ + H₂O // step 2

Disposal

• Can be released into the environment