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soda silicate rocks

updated thu 19 dec 02

 

Paul on mon 16 dec 02


I have some dry soda silcate in a container that was given to me and is very
old. It may have been in the liquid form at one point and gradually
hardened, and now it is rock hard and will not dissolve very much in water,
even when crushed in to finer pieces with a hammer. I there any way to make
use of this material again or is it ruined?
Paul B

iandol on tue 17 dec 02


Dear Paul,

All the varieties of sodium silicate are reputed to be soluble in water.

My suggestion is that you should grind this material down to a fine =
powder then try to digest it in water in a pressure cooker. If this is =
an Aluminium vessel and not steel, make certain you have a glass or =
steel inner vessel to hold your soda silicate water mixture because the =
fluid which forms will be alkaline and can react with Aluminium =
releasing Hydrogen gas.

Be very careful.

Best regards,

Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia.

John Britt on wed 18 dec 02


Paul,

Just throw it out and get some new deflocculant. It is not that expensive
and you can spend the time you save fixing it making new stuff.

Try the 811 deflocculant. It is super!


JOhn Britt