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In order to understand how to make Potassium Nitrate, it is probably best to understand some simple concepts of chemistry. Potassium nitrate is made up of 1 potassium(K) atom, 1 nitrogen(N) atom, and 3 oxygen(O) atoms. That gives us the chemical makeup of Potassium Nitrate, KNO3. In order to familiarize you with Potassium Nitrate I am going to, first, break down the elements of it.
Elemental Potassium is a soft silvery-white metal. When most people think of a metal they think of the common metals like iron, gold, copper etc. which have relatively high densities making them pretty hard. Potassium is a member of the alkali metals which make up the first group in the periodic table. These metals are different and are very soft. This is because of their low densities. Alkali metals are highly reactive and are never found in elemental form in nature. This is because Potassium, along with the other elements in the alkali group, easily give up their 1 valance electron. The ease of losing this electron is what makes this particular group of metals so reactive. With our planet being a mass of spinning water, the existence of these group 1 metals in their elemental form is impossible. Unless, of course, they are stored in mineral oil or paraffin.
2K (s) + 2H2O (l) -> 2KOH (aq) + H2 (g)
The equation above illustrates what happens when solid elemental Potassium is added to water. On the left side we have solid Potassium and liquid Water. When Potassium is put in the water it reacts violently creating an aqueous solution of Potassium Hydroxide(KOH) and Hydrogen gas. There is also something else interesting about this reaction, it is exothermic. which means that the Potassium heats up very quickly to produce a purple flame. The hydrogen that is being produced also ignites as it reacts with oxygen. As my goal is not to promote stupidity I'm giving you this warning do NOT try this at home. Unless, of course, you absolutely know what you are doing. This video is a pretty good one.
So what is the nitrate part? You may have run into several sites where they refer to KNO3 as Saltpetre. And yes I spelled it right. The name in medieval Latin meant stone salt. It still amazes me how people in medieval times knew as much as they did about chemistry. They didn't have the luxury of text books or access to endless amounts of knowledge only mouse clicks away. anyway... Potassium nitrate is a salt. This is very important to the purifying process which utilizes Potassium nitrates ability to completely dissolve in water. Another important characteristic of Potassium nitrate is its high solubility we will discuss the importance of that later.
If you've searched "how to make potassium nitrate." you will find several ways to make it. You can make it with instant cold packs. I don't like this method it kinda defeats the point of making homemade Potassium Nitrate. Another way you could make KNO3 is to FIND some soil with lots of nitrate salts in it. If you live next to or on a dairy farm, cow manure is probably your best option. The only problem with this method is that unless you live next to a farm, finding soil with high nitrates in it can be difficult. You will find that this method will take a lot of effort, yielding a small amount of potassium nitrate, which will need to be further purified. Which will leave you an even smaller amount. As this method is possible, the likelihood of you actually finding a large source of nitrates is very slim. The third method is the most productive. With this method you actually MAKE the nitrate rich soil. This method is very crude. You will spend a lot of time, months, making the potassium nitrate. The nice thing is, at the end, you will have a decent amount of potassium nitrate.
The reality of this is that you are going to spend lots of time making Potassium Nitrate. If you don't want to take the time to make it, you can still get Potassium Nitrate. Buying it online is cheap and easy to do.
Elemental Potassium is a soft silvery-white metal. When most people think of a metal they think of the common metals like iron, gold, copper etc. which have relatively high densities making them pretty hard. Potassium is a member of the alkali metals which make up the first group in the periodic table. These metals are different and are very soft. This is because of their low densities. Alkali metals are highly reactive and are never found in elemental form in nature. This is because Potassium, along with the other elements in the alkali group, easily give up their 1 valance electron. The ease of losing this electron is what makes this particular group of metals so reactive. With our planet being a mass of spinning water, the existence of these group 1 metals in their elemental form is impossible. Unless, of course, they are stored in mineral oil or paraffin.
2K (s) + 2H2O (l) -> 2KOH (aq) + H2 (g)
The equation above illustrates what happens when solid elemental Potassium is added to water. On the left side we have solid Potassium and liquid Water. When Potassium is put in the water it reacts violently creating an aqueous solution of Potassium Hydroxide(KOH) and Hydrogen gas. There is also something else interesting about this reaction, it is exothermic. which means that the Potassium heats up very quickly to produce a purple flame. The hydrogen that is being produced also ignites as it reacts with oxygen. As my goal is not to promote stupidity I'm giving you this warning do NOT try this at home. Unless, of course, you absolutely know what you are doing. This video is a pretty good one.
So what is the nitrate part? You may have run into several sites where they refer to KNO3 as Saltpetre. And yes I spelled it right. The name in medieval Latin meant stone salt. It still amazes me how people in medieval times knew as much as they did about chemistry. They didn't have the luxury of text books or access to endless amounts of knowledge only mouse clicks away. anyway... Potassium nitrate is a salt. This is very important to the purifying process which utilizes Potassium nitrates ability to completely dissolve in water. Another important characteristic of Potassium nitrate is its high solubility we will discuss the importance of that later.
If you've searched "how to make potassium nitrate." you will find several ways to make it. You can make it with instant cold packs. I don't like this method it kinda defeats the point of making homemade Potassium Nitrate. Another way you could make KNO3 is to FIND some soil with lots of nitrate salts in it. If you live next to or on a dairy farm, cow manure is probably your best option. The only problem with this method is that unless you live next to a farm, finding soil with high nitrates in it can be difficult. You will find that this method will take a lot of effort, yielding a small amount of potassium nitrate, which will need to be further purified. Which will leave you an even smaller amount. As this method is possible, the likelihood of you actually finding a large source of nitrates is very slim. The third method is the most productive. With this method you actually MAKE the nitrate rich soil. This method is very crude. You will spend a lot of time, months, making the potassium nitrate. The nice thing is, at the end, you will have a decent amount of potassium nitrate.
The reality of this is that you are going to spend lots of time making Potassium Nitrate. If you don't want to take the time to make it, you can still get Potassium Nitrate. Buying it online is cheap and easy to do.
