CHEM 1AL Lecture 3: Exp 3

• School: Berkeley
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHEM 1AL
• Professor: Saykally Richard

Document Summary

Sulfates(salts containing the sulfate ion (so4 common minerals, including barite(baso4), epsomite(mgso4 7h2o) and gypsum (caso4 2h2o). These dissolved minerals contribute to the mineral content of many drinking-waters. Seawater contains about 2700 mg of sulfate per liter. Typical sulfate levels in fresh water are about 20 mg/liter and range from 0 to 630 mg/liter in rivers , from 2 to 250 mg/liter in lakes, and from 0 to 230 mg/liter in groundwater. Sulfates are also used as additives in the food industry. The average total daily intake of sulfate from drinking-water, air and food is approximately 500 mg, with food being the major source. No adverse effects on humans are common for these levels of sulfate, although higher concentrations can induce diarrhea and are used as laxatives. Sulfates and sulfuric acid products are widely used in the production of fertilizers, chemicals, dyes, glass, paper, soaps, textiles, fungicides, insecticides, astringents and emetics.