Calcium carbonate

 

Calcium carbonate

Chemical formula	CaCO3
OTP appearance	white powder
Molar Mass(g/mol)	100
Density(g/cc)	2.711
Melting Point(°C)	decomp
Solubility in water(g/L)	0.013
NFPA 704	0 1 0
Thermal Decomposition	calcium carbonate 550°C CaO,CO2

Along with silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide, calcium carbonate is one of the most common substances on earth.

Uses

Calcium carbonate is a central substance to the chemistry of Novogenesis. It is available from a large number of sources, relatively safe chemically and biologically, and provides routes to and from a large variety of other salts via metathesis and thermal decomposition. Its insolubility and nontoxic nature make it an ideal metathesis product.

Primary

• Calcium carbonate is the feedstock for calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide, strong alkalis.

Secondary

• Pharmacopia: Antacid
• Source of carbon dioxide by thermal decomposition

Natural Occurrence

• It occurrs naturally as the minerals calcite, limestone, and chalk, among others.
• Sea shells and egg shells are primarily calcium carbonate
• Some white sand is primarily calcium carbonate

Hazards

Calcium carbonate exposure and ingestion are relatively safe. Its unreactive nature makes it fairly bio-inert. Inhalation of fine powder is safER than the inhalation of almost anything else.

Production

• Gathering any of the naturally occurring versions
• from any soluble calcium salt (-hydroxide, -chloride, -acetate, etc)
  • via bubbling carbon dioxide through the solution, causing the carbonate to precipitate.
  • via metathesis with another carbonate compound
• from -oxide via exposure to air