Barium Sulfate

Alternate Names: Calk, Calk-Stone, Barite, Barytes, BaSO₄, Barium Sulphate

Oxide	Analysis	Formula
BaO	65.76%	1.00
SO3	34.24%	n/a
Oxide Weight		153.30
Formula Weight		233.12

Notes

Barium sulfate is used as a pigment extender for coatings, plastics, rubber and chalks. Special grades are approved for pharmaceutical applications where the material is used in medical x-ray exams (it is an insoluble, inert, non-radioactive substance). The barium sulfate is more dense than the other tissues in the body making it possible to see organs and structures that cannot be seen otherwise.

On its own, barium sulphate does not decompose until after 1400C. But in the presence of silica and alumina barites decompose between 1100 and 1200 (ideal point being 1130 to 1150) with a corresponding decrease in the sulphur content. (see Metallurgical and Materials Transactions Volume 42B, August 2011)

Related Information

Links

Hazards	Barium Carbonate
Hazards	BARIUM and COMPOUNDS / Toxicology
Hazards	The Use of Barium in Clay Bodies Considerations regarding the use of barium carbonate in pottery and structural clay bodies for precipitation of soluble salts.
Typecodes	Generic Material Generic materials are those with no brand name. Normally they are theoretical, the chemistry portrays what a specimen would be if it had no contamination. Generic materials are helpful in educational situations where students need to study material theory (later they graduate to dealing with real world materials). They are also helpful where the chemistry of an actual material is not known. Often the accuracy of calculations is sufficient using generic materials.
Typecodes	Flux Source Materials that source Na2O, K2O, Li2O, CaO, MgO and other fluxes but are not feldspars or frits. Remember that materials can be flux sources but also perform many other roles. For example, talc is a flux in high temperature glazes, but a matting agent in low temperatures ones. It can also be a flux, a filler and an expansion increaser in bodies.
Oxides	BaO - Barium Oxide, Baria
URLs	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barium_sulphate Barium sulphate at Wikipedia
URLs	http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/cis/products/icsc/dtasht/_icsc08/icsc0827.htm Barium Sulphate Hazards at ilo.org
Minerals	Barytes, Barite Barite (65.7% BaO, 34.3% SO4) is the main mineral from which barium carbonate is sourced. It is mine

Data

Density (Specific Gravity)	1350.00
Density (Specific Gravity)	4.5

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