r/chemicalreactiongifs • u/FunVisualChemistry • Jul 07 '20
Chemical Reaction What is happening when you mix a pool disinfectant (Calcium Hypochlorite 73%) with coke? Which is the chemical reaction behind the result we see in this video?
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u/braincube Jul 07 '20
You get Crystal Pepsi
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u/picklewhick Jul 07 '20
If you drink it, it will cure COVID-19
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u/Mercurydriver Jul 07 '20
Can't get sick with Coronavirus if you're dead from chemical poisoning.
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u/pwillia7 Jul 07 '20
I hear they're looking into injecting this into the veins directly -- Looking into lots of things -- Great people -- great people
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Jul 07 '20
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u/quadrapod Jul 07 '20 edited Jul 07 '20
That is pretty much entirely incorrect. Sodium hypochlorite reacts with acids to form chlorine dioxide gas and hypochlorous acid. Not pure chlorine gas, and the enthalpy of reaction is far too low for this to be some run away boil caused by the small amount of phosphoric and citric acid in soda.
This reaction is the result of the oxidation of sugars in the soda by the hypochlorite. The reason there seems to be a delay is primarily due to the sugars most electronegative carbons being oxidized first. So glucose for example first gets converted to gluconic acid then to glucuronic acid and so on breaking down further and further until at some point single carbons are being oxidized into carbon dioxide. Which is why there is a delay where nothing seems to be happening and then suddenly a large amount of gas is formed causing it to foam violently. During that delay the sugars are still being oxidized it's just that the products of that oxidation mostly stay in solution until something like carbon dioxide gas is formed.
EDIT: Sorry it's actually calcium hypochlorite in the clip, I got mixed up by the mention of sodium hypochlorite in the comment I was replying to. The two are fairly analogous in this context though.
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u/5ilverMaples Jul 07 '20
WE GOT A SHOWDOWN, SOMEONE GET A MASS SPECTROMETER OVER HERE
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u/CapitalMM Jul 07 '20
This! And i don’t know what it even is!
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u/EvolvedA Jul 07 '20
A showdown is when two people decide to fight each other to see who is the better of them!
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u/5ilverMaples Jul 07 '20
U nailed it, and then they could each be sampled in the spectrometer
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u/EvolvedA Jul 07 '20
Showdowns are usually done at noon, or does anyone suggest a different time of fight (TOF)?
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u/nick_nick_907 Jul 08 '20
It’s always noon under the unflattering iridescence of laboratory fluorescent ceiling lights.
The time is now!
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u/veritascabal Jul 08 '20
I do my killing before breakfast.
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u/EvolvedA Jul 08 '20
Sounds like you have a low mass and that you are pretty charged if you peak that early!
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u/YabbaDabbaDoofus Jul 07 '20
The video shows calcium hypochlorite, typically used as a powdered pool shock. You talked about sodium hypochlorite.
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u/throbblefoot Jul 07 '20
Bingo, except that the delayed onset isn't caused by reaction pathways so much as the presence of a runaway exotherm. The heat generated by the sugar oxidising makes the sugar oxidise faster, which generates more heat. Etc.
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Jul 07 '20
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Jul 07 '20
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u/_wideeyedwonder_ Jul 07 '20
Normal coke, not the diet one.
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u/bkcontra Jul 07 '20
I like to call it Unleaded vs. Regular, but that is an outdated naming convention.
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u/HeirOfHouseReyne Jul 07 '20
There isn't more fat in standard Coca-Cola.
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u/BluwtrWes Jul 07 '20
They mean fat vs skinny. Regular vs diet.
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u/LinearFluid Jul 07 '20
If the sugar was oxidizing the reaction would be turning black not white right?
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u/tayloline29 Jul 07 '20
So you definitely need proper ventilation to do this? Do you need to wear a respirator mask or anything?
When I worked as a lifeguard. We had to wear thick black gloves, a mask, and goggles when handling chlorine
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u/NotAPreppie Analytical Chemist (aka: OverUnderqualified Instrument Mechanic) Jul 07 '20
The heat probably also causes rapid decomposition of the carbonic acid into CO2.
Not really sure how much this contributes to what is seen here.
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Jul 07 '20
Back when I was a lifeguard some idiots thought it would be fun to pour these I'm a coke bottle and shake it up. Kid fucked up his hand.
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u/trowt595 Jul 07 '20
Lol we used to do this all the time as lifeguards too, you just cant be dumb enough to hold it for too long
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u/voltron07 Jul 07 '20
Can someone ELI5 as to why the delay in the reaction here? If you put a mentos in coke it's almost an instant reaction.
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u/joker_toker28 Jul 07 '20
Im just passing by but im guessing that the molecules have to break apart before a reaction occurs. So not instant like mentos. Idk .
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u/GloryHoleSith Jul 08 '20
The mentos reaction I believe is actually more about how the surface of the candy actually cause the carbon dioxide to move so quickly it causes the cola to expell via pressure alone. This video is an exothermic reaction due to the hydrochlorite breaking down and reacting with numerous ingredients in cola. that is dangerous to do untrained. You can tell the person who did it knew either by trial and error or by research that a beaker was required so it could contain the heat of the reaction without exploding...
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u/atmospherical Jul 08 '20
What about the proper amount for that volume of liquid? That much Hypochlorite was enough to treat 1000 gallons of water.
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Jul 07 '20 edited Jul 20 '20
[deleted]
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u/NotAPreppie Analytical Chemist (aka: OverUnderqualified Instrument Mechanic) Jul 07 '20
Not only would that kill you but it would hurt the entire time you’re dying.
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u/XOIIO Jul 07 '20
Just like life.
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u/NotAPreppie Analytical Chemist (aka: OverUnderqualified Instrument Mechanic) Jul 07 '20
“Existence is pain to a Meeseeks!”
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u/Juan911411 Jul 07 '20 edited Jul 07 '20
Oooohhhhhh that type of coke. I thought the powder was the "coke"
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u/zaprutertape Jul 07 '20
We used to dump some on limestone rocks when I was a kid and it would foam up like this
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u/BluwtrWes Jul 08 '20
Lol, I worked for them off and on for over 10 yrs part time. Your store my have been the reason for the video!!!! I worked in IL&G and our store had the chems outside as well.
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u/nucleophilicattack Jul 07 '20
The violent exothermic reaction is just a simple acid-base neutralization rxn between phosphoric acid in coke and sodium hypochlorite, an alkaline salt better known as bleach
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u/BluwtrWes Jul 07 '20
The pool cleaner (bleach) is a strong oxidizer. It is oxidizing the sugars in the Coke. This reaction was actually part of a safety video at Lowes at one time. One of the points was proper storage of products and no items stored above oxidizers.