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Minerals in Detail
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
CHLORINE / CHLORIDE
Chlorine - chemical details
| Symbol | Cl |
| Atomic number | 17 |
| Atomic mass | 35.453 g.mol -1 |
| Electronegativity | 3.0 (according to Pauling) |
| Density | 3.21*10-3 g.cm-3 at 20 °C |
| Melting point | -101 °C |
| Boiling point | -34.6 °C |
| Vanderwaals radius | 0.127 nm |
| Ionic radius | 0.184 (-2) nm |
| 0.029 nm (+6) |
| Isotopes | 4 |
| Electronic configuration | [Ne] 3s23p5 |
| Energy of first ionisation | 1255.7 kJ.mol-1 |
| Energy of second ionisation | 2298 kJ.mol-1 |
| Energy of third ionisation | 3822 kJ.mol-1 |
| Standard potential | - 1.36 V |
| Discovered | 1774 - Carl Wilhelm Scheele |
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
Chlorine / Chloride - Description
The pure chemical element has the physical form of a diatomic green gas. The name chlorine is derived from chloros, meaning green, referring to the color of
the gas. Chlorine gas is two and one half times as heavy as air, has an intensely disagreeable suffocating odor, and is exceedingly poisonous. In its liquid
and solid form it is a powerful oxidizing, bleaching, and disinfecting agent. This element is a part of the halogen series forming salts.
Chlorine gas is greenish-yellow and combines readily with nearly all other elements. Consequently it is found almost exclusively in this combined form as a
chloride. The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine picks up one electron (this tendency is what makes chlorine an oxidant) to form an anion
(negatively-charged ion) Cl-. An example is table salt, which is sodium chloride with the chemical formula NaCl. In water, it dissolves into Na+ and Cl- ions.
The word chloride can also refer to a chemical compound in which one or more chlorine atoms are covalently bonded in the molecule. This means that chlorides
can be either inorganic or organic compounds. The most common method of obtaining chlorine is to extract it from chlorides through oxidation and electrolysis.
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
Chlorine - Industrial applications
Chlorine is an important chemical in water purification, in disinfectants, in bleach and in wood production. For details on
industrial applications and impact on the environment see www.lenntech.com/Periodic-chart-elements/Cl-en.htm
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
Chlorine / Chloride - In natural form
In nature it is only found combined with other elements, chiefly sodium in the form of common salt (NaCl), but also in carnallite and sylvite. Chlorides
make up much of the salt dissolved in the earth's oceans: about 1.9 % of the mass of seawater is chloride ions. The amount of chloride in soils varies
according to the distance from the sea. The average in top soils is about 10 ppm. Plants contain various amount of chlorine - it is an essential micro-
nutrient for higher plants where is concentrates in the chloroplasts. Growth suffers if the amount of chloride in the soil fall below 2 ppm, but such low
levels rarely happen.
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
Chloride - Impact on health
Chloride is a chemical the human body needs for metabolism (the process of turning food into energy). It also helps keep the body's acid-base balance.
The amount of chloride in the blood is carefully controlled by the kidneys. Chloride ions have important physiological roles. For instance, in the central
nervous system, the inhibitory action of glycine relies on the bioavailability of Cl- so it can reach specific neurons. The chloride-bicarbonate
exchanger (biological transport protein) relies on the chloride ion to increase the blood's capacity to carry carbon dioxide (in the form of bicarbonate ions).
The normal blood reference range of chloride for adults is 95 to 105 milliequivalents (mEq) per liter.
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