A kaliapparat is a laboratory device invented in 1831 by

Justus von Liebig Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at t ...

(1803–1873) for the analysis of

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...

s. The device, made of

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...

, consists of a series of five bulbs connected and arranged in a triangular shape. To determine the carbon in an organic compound with a kaliapparat, the substance is first burned, converting any

present into

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

(CO₂). The gaseous products along with the

water vapor (99.9839 °C) , - , Boiling point , , - , specific gas constant , 461.5 J/( kg·K) , - , Heat of vaporization , 2.27 MJ/kg , - , Heat capacity , 1.864 kJ/(kg·K) Water vapor, water vapour or aqueous vapor is the gaseous pha ...

produced by

combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combusti ...

are passed through the kaliapparat, which is filled with a

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

(KOH) solution. The potassium hydroxide reacts with the CO₂ to trap it as

potassium carbonate Potassium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2 CO3. It is a white salt, which is soluble in water. It is deliquescent, often appearing as a damp or wet solid. Potassium carbonate is mainly used in the production of soap and gl ...

. The global reaction, ignoring intermediate steps and the corresponding

ionic dissociation Dissociation in chemistry is a general process in which molecules (or ionic compounds such as salts, or complexes) separate or split into other things such as atoms, ions, or radicals, usually in a reversible manner. For instance, when an ac ...

, can be written as follows: :2 KOH + CO₂ → K₂CO₃ + H₂O. Subtracting the mass of the kaliapparat before the combustion from that measured after the combustion gives the amount of CO₂ absorbed. From the mass of CO₂ thus determined, standard

stoichiometric Stoichiometry refers to the relationship between the quantities of reactants and products before, during, and following chemical reactions. Stoichiometry is founded on the law of conservation of mass where the total mass of the reactants equal ...

calculations then give the mass of carbon in the original sample. A stylized symbol of a kaliapparat is used in the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

logo since 1909, originally designed in the early 20th century by Tiffany's Jewelers.

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External links

* * * {{cite web , title = American Chemical Society , url = http://www.acs.org/ , access-date = 2009-06-29 – The American Chemical Society's logo contains a kaliapparat. 1831 in Germany 1831 in science Analytical chemistry Elemental analysis German inventions Justus von Liebig Laboratory equipment Organic chemistry

See also

References

Further reading

External links