Preparation and Production
Lead(II) nitrate does not occur naturally. The compound can be obtained by dissolving metallic lead in aqueous nitric acid:
- 3 Pb (s) + 8 H+ (aq) + 2 NO−
3 (aq) → 3 Pb2+ (aq) + 2 NO−
3 (g) + 4 H2O (l)
More commonly, lead(II) nitrate is obtained by dissolving lead(II) oxide, which is readily available as an intermediate in the processing of galena, in aqueous nitric acid:
- PbO (s) + 2 H+ (aq) → Pb2+ (aq) + H2O (l)
In either case, since the solvent is concentrated nitric acid (in which lead(II) nitrate has very low solubility) and the resulting solution contains nitrate ions, anhydrous crystals of lead(II) nitrate spontaneously form as a result of the common ion effect:
- Pb2+ (aq) + 2 NO−
3 (aq) → Pb(NO3)2 (s)
Most commercially available lead(II) nitrate, as well as laboratory-scale material, is produced accordingly. Supply is in 25 kilogram bags up to 1000 kilogram big bags, and in laboratory containers, both by general producers of laboratory chemicals and by producers of lead and lead compounds. No large-scale production has been reported.
In nitric acid treatment of lead-containing wastes, e.g., in the processing of lead–bismuth wastes from lead refineries, impure solutions of lead(II) nitrate are formed as by-product. These solutions are reported to be used in the gold cyanidation process.
Read more about this topic: Lead(II) Nitrate
Famous quotes containing the words preparation and, preparation and/or production:
“It’s sad but true that if you focus your attention on housework and meal preparation and diapers, raising children does start to look like drudgery pretty quickly. On the other hand, if you see yourself as nothing less than your child’s nurturer, role model, teacher, spiritual guide, and mentor, your days take on a very different cast.”
—Joyce Maynard (20th century)
“Living each day as a preparation for the next is an exciting way to live. Looking forward to something is much more fun than looking back at something—and much more constructive. If we can prepare ourselves so that we never have to think, “Oh, if I had only known, if I had only been ready,” our lives can really be the great adventure we so passionately want them to be.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“The growing of food and the growing of children are both vital to the family’s survival.... Who would dare make the judgment that holding your youngest baby on your lap is less important than weeding a few more yards in the maize field? Yet this is the judgment our society makes constantly. Production of autos, canned soup, advertising copy is important. Housework—cleaning, feeding, and caring—is unimportant.”
—Debbie Taylor (20th century)