Strontian process

With the Strontianverfahren residual sugar is produced from molasses. Strontian is a mixture of strontium oxide and strontium and is made ​​of the mineral strontianite ( strontium carbonate ) was prepared.

Chemistry

In a first step, strontium carbonate to strontium oxide is fired. In contrast to calcium carbonate ( calcination) this is enough simply heating is not sufficient, but to burn you have to water vapor and / or carbon to add. The resulting carbon dioxide is needed later.

Strontian reacts with sugar sparingly Strontiumsaccharat which can be filtered off. With the help of carbon dioxide ( from the combustion process ) is from Strontiumsaccharat turn strontium carbonate precipitated. From the remaining solution is obtained by evaporating pure strontium- free sugar. The strontium can be re- introduced as a starting material in the process. The Strontianverfahren is a cycle in which no strontium is consumed (catalyst).

History

Molasses is a residual product from the production of sugar from sugar beets and is itself not more than 50 % sugar. The French chemist Hippolyte Leplay and Augustin- Pierre Dubrunfaut developed a method to separate from the molasses by the reaction of barium oxide with sugar sparingly soluble Bariumsaccharate. In 1849 they expanded their patent on strontium salts. It seems just to be a legal backup of Barytverfahrens in this patent. In practice, the Strontianverfahren of Leplay and Dubrunfaut probably not work.

Only through the work of Carl Scheibler the Strontianverfahren was industrially applicable. After Scheibler the Strontianverfahren must be carried out at the boiling point. In particular, in the Dessau sugar refinery by Emil Fleischer, the method was used. In Munsterland then broke out a veritable " gold fever " to Gewinning of strontianite. One of the biggest mines in Drensteinfurt was named after Dr. Reichardt, the director of the Dessau sugar refinery. Another place where the Strontianverfahrens was the sugar factory Rositz.

In 1883, demand for strontianite significantly. On the one hand ( Celestine ) it was a strontium mineral displaces another that was imported cheaply from England. Secondly, the price of sugar fell so strong that a recovery from molasses was no longer worthwhile.