Question

Give reasons for the following :
(i) Sodium carbonate is made by Solvay process but the same process is not extended to the manufacture of potassium carbonate.
(ii) Hydrogen peroxide is a better oxidising agent than water.
(iii) Magnesium oxide is used for the lining of steel making furnace.
(iv) Why is sodium chloride added during electrolysis of fused anhydrous magnesium chloride?
(v) Hydrogen peroxide acts as an oxidising as well as a reducing agent.
(vi) The crystalline salts of alkaline earth metals contain more water of crystallisation than the corresponding alkali metal salts.
(vii) BeCl₂ can be easily hydrolysed.

Answer 1

iii) Magnesium oxide is used to make linings for some furnaces. It is known as a refractory material - which just means that it is resistant to heat. You may have come across this on the CIE page about ceramics. Magnesium oxide has a high melting point (2852°C) and so resists the high temperatures in a furnace

Answer 2

The Solvay process or ammonia-soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate. The ammonia-soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the 1860s. The ingredients for this are readily available and inexpensive: salt brine and limestone.