Chlorine

Chlorine is a chemical element; it has symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas at room temperature. It is an extremely reactive element and a strong oxidising agent: among the elements, it has the highest electron affinity and the third-highest electronegativity on the revised Pauling scale, behind only oxygen and fluorine.

Chlorine has a variety of uses. It is used to disinfect water and is part of the sanitation process for sewage and industrial waste. During the production of paper and cloth, chlorine is used as a bleaching agent. It is also used in cleaning products, including household bleach which is chlorine dissolved in water.

Hydrogen

Identity.

Chlorine is a chemical element; it has symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas at room temperature.

Atomic Structure:

Chlorine has an atomic number of 17. This means that chlorine's atomic structure has a total of 17 protons and 17 electrons. These electrons are organized into three electron shells: K, L, and M. Chlorine has two electrons in its first electron shell and eight electrons in its second electron shell.

History.

Hydrochloric acid (HCl) was known to the alchemists. The gaseous element itself was first produced in 1774 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele at Uppsala, Sweden, by heating hydrochloric acid with the mineral pyrolusite which is naturally occuring manganese dioxide, MnO2. A dense, greenish-yellow gas was evolved which he recorded as having a choking smell and which dissolved in water to give an acid solution. He noted that it bleached litmus paper, and decolourised leaves and flowers.

Humphry Davy investigated it in 1807 and eventually concluded not only that it was a simple substance, but that it was truly an element. He announced this in 1810 and yet it took another ten years for some chemists finally to accept that chlorine really was an element.

Paracelsus

Usage.

Chlorine has a variety of uses. It is used to disinfect water and is part of the sanitation process for sewage and industrial waste. During the production of paper and cloth, chlorine is used as a bleaching agent. It is also used in cleaning products, including household bleach which is chlorine dissolved in water.

  • Disinfecting water:Chlorine is used to kill bacteria and other harmful microorganisms in drinking water and swimming pool water.
  • Manufacturing paper products:Chlorine is used to bleach paper pulp and make it white.
  • Making plastics: Chlorine is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is used in a wide variety of products, including pipes, flooring, and building materials.
Some of the benefits of using Chlorine are:
  • Chlorine is the primary disinfectant used in treating public water supplies. It effectively kills harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites, preventing the spread of waterborne diseases. This has significantly improved public health globally.
  • Chlorine is a key ingredient in polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a versatile plastic used in numerous products like pipes, building materials, and medical devices.
  • Chlorine helps disinfect wastewater before it is released into the environment, reducing the risk of spreading harmful pathogens.

Sources.

Halite (sodium chloride or 'common salt') is the main mineral that is mined for chlorine. Sodium chloride is a very soluble salt that has been leached into the oceans over the lifetime of the Earth. Several salt beds, or 'lakes' are found where ancient seas have evaporated, and these can be mined for chloride.

Properties.

Some key properties of chlorine include:

Chlorine has a melting point of -100.98°C, boiling point of -34.6°C, density of 3.214 g/l, specific gravity of 1.56 (-33.6°C), with a valence of 1, 3, 5, or 7. Chlorine is a member of the halogen group of elements and directly combines with almost all of the other elements.