Question

What happens if someone mixes calcium carbide with:

1) Dry Ice ?

or

2) Thermite ?

Answer 1

Answer on Question #43377 - Chemistry - Other

Question:

What happens if someone mixes calcium carbide with:

1) Dry Ice ?

or

2) Thermite ?

Solution:

1) If someone mixes calcium carbide with dry ice the mixture will be frozen because of low temperature of $\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ sublimation $-78.5^{\circ} \mathrm{C}$ ($-109.3^{\circ} \mathrm{F}$). However, after a time decrease of temperature near the mixture results in water condensation from the air. The result of adding water to calcium carbide is reaction between water and carbide:

$$\mathrm{CaC}_{2} + 2\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O} \rightarrow \mathrm{Ca(OH)}_{2} + \mathrm{C}_{2}\mathrm{H}_{2} \uparrow$$

The products are calcium hydroxide and acetylene. The interaction will run slowly because of low temperature in reaction area.

One of the products Calcium hydroxide can interact with dry ice:

$$\mathrm{Ca(OH)}_{2} + \mathrm{CO}_{2} \rightarrow \mathrm{CaCO}_{3} + \mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}$$

The products of this reaction are calcium carbonate and water.

2) If calcium carbide is mixed with thermite, the reaction will not start. However, if the mixture is heated to the ignition temperature, the following reaction will occur:

$$\begin{array}{l} 2\mathrm{Al} + \mathrm{Fe}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3} \rightarrow \mathrm{Al}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3} + 2\mathrm{Fe} \\ \mathrm{CaC}_{2} + \mathrm{Fe}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3} \rightarrow \mathrm{CaO} + 2\mathrm{Fe} + 2\mathrm{CO} \uparrow \end{array}$$

Additionally, some reactions may run between the carbide and oxygen or nitrogen from the air:

$$\begin{array}{l} 2\mathrm{CaC}_{2} + 5\mathrm{O}_{2} \rightarrow 2\mathrm{CaO} + 4\mathrm{CO}_{2} \uparrow \\ \mathrm{CaC}_{2} + \mathrm{N}_{2} \rightarrow \mathrm{CaCN}_{2} \end{array}$$

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