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Chemistry Forums for Students => Inorganic Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: david222hughes on June 06, 2020, 10:42:52 AM

Title: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 06, 2020, 10:42:52 AM
Hey all,

Im not too hot with the Chemistry or Math and have a problem I need help with.

There are 4 different chemical compounds in a 450g powdered mixture:

Sodium Bicarbonate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate

I know the quantity of the following elements contained in this mixture per 5g serving:

Ca (32mg), Mg (20 mg), Na (620 mg) and K (814 mg)

What I want to figure out is how much Sodium Bicarbonate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Chloride and Calcium Carbonate have been individually used in the total 450g mixture to arrive at these numbers per 5g serving, and then how much would I need of each to make a 1000g mixture.

I have made a start with the calculations....

My understanding based on some internet searching is that I need to know the 'Molar Mass' of each compound first, and then the 'Atomic Weight' of each element.

So for Sodium bicarbonate I have Mol Mass = 84.0066g;
and the Atomic Weight is 22.99

To find out how much Sodium is in 1g, i'm dividing 22.99 by 84.0066 and multiplying the answer by 1 which equals 0.274g/g, or 274mgs per 1000mgs.

The amount of Sodium in the 5g mixture is 620mgs which by my calculations equals 2.26g (2260mgs) of Sodium bicarbonate per 5g, multiplied by 200 (to get the 1000g amount) = 452g of Sodium bicarbonate per 1000g. Am I close?

I did the Magnesium Chloride hexahydrate calculation too.
Molar mass: 203.31
Atomic weight of Magnesium: 24.305

Then, 24.305 divided by 203.31 multiplied by 1 = 0.12g/g, or 120mgs per 1000mgs. The amount of Magnesium in the 5g mixture is 20mgs which works out to be around 0.17g (170mgs) of Magnesium chloride per 5g, times 200 = 34g per 1000g.

If those two are correct I can work out the other two remaining compounds myself obviously. Just need someone to check the Math and steer me in the right direction.

Thanks.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 06, 2020, 12:33:12 PM
Quote
Sodium Bicarbonate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate
Quote
I did the Magnesium Chloride hexahydrate calculation too.
Check that all compounds have a total weight of 5 g.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 06, 2020, 12:58:27 PM
The total weight of the 4 elements is 1486mgs in 5000mgs. There is no filler in the mixture so the 4 compounds total 5000mgs.

My understanding is that the missing weight, 3514mgs, is accounted for by the 'bicarbonate', 'carbonate' and 'chloride' portions of the individual compounds.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 06, 2020, 01:03:17 PM
Check masses of salts.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: billnotgatez on June 07, 2020, 02:28:53 AM
For
Ca (32mg), Mg (20 mg), Na (620 mg) and K (814 mg)
I get a total of
4.5 to 4.6 grams for the total of the compounds
I guess I am doing something wrong
or there is a typo in the amount of elements wanted
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: Borek on June 07, 2020, 03:51:36 AM
Sodium Bicarbonate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate

I know the quantity of the following elements contained in this mixture per 5g serving:

Ca (32mg), Mg (20 mg), Na (620 mg) and K (814 mg)

Trick is, it doesn't easily add up.

That is, when you calculate sum of masses of dry salts containing these masses of elements you will get 4.5 g, like billnotgatez wrote. That most likely means the mixture is wet and/or contains some other substances.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 07, 2020, 03:53:24 AM
For
Ca (32mg), Mg (20 mg), Na (620 mg) and K (814 mg)
I get a total of
4.5 to 4.6 grams for the total of the compounds
I guess I am doing something wrong
or there is a typo in the amount of elements wanted
For anhydrous MgCl2 and for hexahydrate, respectively - some error in data exists.

That's why I recommended checking the weight of the salt. In addition, these data are needed for further calculations.
MgCl2 is not so hygroscopic that it can be responsible for a weight gain of 0.5 g.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 07, 2020, 10:16:00 AM
Thanks for the replies.

I checked the product package again and can confirm the quantities as being:

Serving size: 1 scoop (5g)
Amount Per Serving: Calcium 32mg, Magnesium 20mg, Sodium 620mg, Potassium 814mg
Ingredients: Proprietary Blend (Sodium Bicarbonate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate).


To further add to my confusion I found another company in Europe selling the same product under a different brand and they have only listed the values of Potassium and Magnesium per 18g.

Ingredients:

sodium bicarbonate
potassium bicarbonate
calcium carbonate
magnesium carbonate

Per 18g

Potassium

3,285 mg

Magnesium

88.13 mg

Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 07, 2020, 10:30:36 AM
This means that this product contains other substances that are not listed, e.g. anti-caking agents.
In 1 kg of the mixture there will be 100 g of these additives.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 07, 2020, 11:18:52 AM
Apparently not - I contacted both suppliers and both informed me that no fillers are used in the product - only the 4 listed ingredients.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 07, 2020, 12:02:15 PM
Suppliers don't seem to want to reveal the recipe details.
In addition, this probably applies to dietary supplements, and according to the regulations of the Forum, we should not help in reconstructing recipes.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 07, 2020, 12:59:49 PM
Fair enough.
 
Forgetting about the formulation and just focusing on one of the salts, Sodium 620mgs per 5g, is the method that I am using to calculate the amount of Sodium Bicarbonate per 5g correct?

Sodium bicarbonate Mol Mass = 84.0066g;
Atomic Weight = 22.99

To find out how much Sodium is in 1g, i'm dividing 22.99 by 84.0066 and multiplying the answer by 1 which equals 0.274g/g, or 274mgs per 1000mgs.

The amount of Sodium in the 5g mixture is 620mgs which by my calculations is 2.26g (2.26 * 274 = 620) of Sodium bicarbonate per 5g. Is this correct?
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 07, 2020, 02:39:52 PM
NaHCO3*620/Na = 2265 mg - correct.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: billnotgatez on June 07, 2020, 03:19:02 PM
@david222hughes
Can you do this for the other compounds and see if it adds to 5 grams
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 08, 2020, 12:27:30 AM
@billnotgatez

The totals fall short of 5g.

NaHCO3 = 2.266g

KHCO3 = 2.084g

MgCl2 = 0.167g

CaCO3 = 0.08g

Total: 4.597g

As the serving size is is denoted by "1 scoop" (5g), perhaps the calculations provided by the manufacturer are based on precisely that - 1 scoop - which happened to weigh 4.6g which was then rounded up to 5g.   
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 08, 2020, 12:46:14 AM
From your data, there is no reason to use magnesium chloride hexahydrate.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 08, 2020, 05:59:33 AM
@AWK

Im not sure what you mean. Are you suggesting it could be completely omitted from the formulation or do you mean that Magnesium Chloride anhydrous would be better suited?
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 08, 2020, 06:05:23 AM
In your first post, you indicated only: magnesium chloride.
Both salts are on the market.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 08, 2020, 10:48:54 AM
Yes, so I picked one. 

For the anhydrous the calculation is 95.211* 20 = 1904.22 / 24.305 = 78mgs vs 167mgs for the hexahydrate.
The difference is minor and the total weight changes to only 4.51g vs 4.6g with the hex.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: AWK on June 08, 2020, 11:29:42 AM
Now you must accept that the supplement to the weight of up to 5 g contains some additives that are the company's secret.
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 09, 2020, 07:32:26 AM
Or that the weights and values are based on a typically sized scoop which was 4.5-4.6g rounded up to 5g. One or the other. ;) 
Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: DrCMS on June 09, 2020, 09:28:59 AM
Now you must accept that the supplement to the weight of up to 5 g contains some additives that are the company's secret.

This could be true but I would bet lots of my own money it is not.

Or that the weights and values are based on a typically sized scoop which was 4.5-4.6g rounded up to 5g. One or the other. ;)

This could also be true but I would bet lots of my own money it is not.

This company is selling a mixture of 4 things:

sodium bicarbonate
potassium bicarbonate
calcium carbonate
magnesium carbonate

all 4 reagents will be bought to a specification which will not be 100% more likely is >99%. 
They will be weighed out individually and mixed which will have an accuracy of again something like >99% for each weighing.

When you put all that together the most likely assumption is that the 4 raw materials are mixed together and the errors are potentially ~8% combined and 92% of 5g is 4.6g.



Title: Re: Chemical Powder Calculation Question
Post by: david222hughes on June 10, 2020, 11:49:38 PM
Thanks DrCMC. Sounds like the most plausible and scientific explanation.