J.R. S. answered • 05/21/18
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Ph.D. in Biochemistry--University Professor--Chemistry Tutor
This will depend on how much aluminum sulfate you have AND the ratio of water to alcohol (I assume you are using ethyl alcohol). Also, the particular alcohol you use will be a factor. You might try making alcohol-water mixtures first, and then add the aluminum sulfate to that, rather than first dissolving in water and then adding alcohol.
J.R. S.
tutor
The solubility of aluminum sulfate in water is only 31 g per 100 ml water and it is only slightly soluble in alcohol. Why do you need tge alcohol ang glycerol? Have you tried warming the solution? Are you trying to dissolve more than 30 g per 100 ml?
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05/23/18
Petar P.
We need all these ingredients for the product we are trying to make.
We did try warming the solution, and the solution is homogeneous while it is very hot, but as soon as it cools down the aluminum sulfate crystallizes.
We did try warming the solution, and the solution is homogeneous while it is very hot, but as soon as it cools down the aluminum sulfate crystallizes.
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05/24/18
Petar P.
No, we are adding 5-10% of the total mixture.
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05/24/18
John B.
You're probably trying to make a deodorant or aftershave. I'm trying to make a deodorant at the moment and I'm running into the same problem even without using any alcohol. Just water, alum and glycerin. There's quite an amount of solid at the bottom of my spray bottle which causes the nozzle to get clogged, making it unuseable. And the ratios I'm using are such that I know for sure the amount of water can easily hold all the potassium aluminum sulfate without getting saturated. Perhaps the following information I found on Wikipedia can explain what's going on. It's about alum used in water purification: In water purification, it causes suspended impurities to coagulate into larger particles and then settle to the bottom of the container (or be filtered out) more easily. This process is called coagulation or flocculation. So the alum reacts with the glycerine, causing it to form into a solid which then sinks to the bottom of the container. I don't think the alcohol has anything to do with it.
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03/15/20
Petar P.
Unfortunately, I already tried different alcohol - water ratios. From there only being 20% alcohol to there being 70% alcohol, the same problem occurs.
I also tried mixing the mixture in every possible combination/order but that also didn't solve the problem.
05/23/18