SUL

SUL

( Se >4 )

liquid, which are probably fimple hydro-ful-. phuret of lime.

When liquid fulphuret of lime is expofed tothe air, it abforbs oxygen pretty rapidly (as allthe liquid fulphurets do), and the fulphurchanges to fulphuric acid ; fo that the furfaceof the liquor is foon covered with a hard cruftof fulphat of lime, which prevents the fluidbeneath from being a died on in the fame man-ner, unlefs the cruft is broken by fhaking. Thisfait has been propofed to be ufed inftead of thealkalies in bleaching, as all the fulphurets pof-fefs highly detergent qualities, and this can beprepared much cheaper than the alkaline ful-phurets. Mr. William Higgins, of Dublin, theinventor, gives the following proportions : a —boil in an iron kettle, for half an hour, 4lbs.of fulphur, 2olbs. of lime, well flacked andfifted, and 16 gallons of water, with frequentftirring. This yields, after a (holt fubfidence,a clear fulphuret of the colour of fmall beer,and the fame quantity of frefh water may bepoured on the refidue to extract the remainingfulphuret. For the purpofe of bleaching, thewhole quantity of liquid is to be made up tofixty gallons, and in this brown linen cloth maybe fteeped for twelve or eighteen hours, alter-nating with oxymuriat of lime, for about fixtimes, by which it will acquire the requifitewhitenefs. The cold liquor anfwers nearly, ifnot entirely, as well as the hot.

Sulphuret of Barytes and Strontian. The li-quid fulphurets of thefe earths may be madeeither by boiling the pure earth with fulphurand water, or by calcining the fulphats of thefeearths with charcoal, to convert them into ful-phurets, and diflolving the latter out from anyremaining undecompofed fulphat. It has beenalready mentioned, under the head of Hydro-fulphuret, that thefe folutions, when fully fa-turated, depofit cryftals which are pure hydro-fulphurets, fince they effervefce ftrongly withan acid, and do not depofit fulphur in the pro-cels. But the entire folution contains an excefsof fulphur, which will feparate on adding anacid.

Sulphwet of Ammonia. Though fulphuretted-hydrogen and ammoniacal gas, will combine inthe dry way into a hydro-fulphuret of ammonia,fulphur cannot be united with this alkali exceptin the liquid form, and this too is not readilyeffected, except through the medium of distil-lation ; for when fulphur and liquid ammoniaare Amply digefted together, it requires a con-

• Phil. Jouri

fiderable time before any folution of the fulphur.is obtained.

The liquid fulphuret of ammonia producedby diftillation, appears to have been firft noticedby Boyle, who obferved its fuming propertywhen expofed to air, whence it was calledBoyle’s Fuming Liquor, or Volatile Liver of Sul-phur. The procefs as given by Beaume, fome-what improved, is the following: mix to-gether in a mortar, and put into a retort, 3lbs.of flacked lime, ilb. of fal-ammoniac, 8 oz. offlowers of fulphur; and add to this, when inthe retort, 6 oz. of water. Adapt a tubulatedreceiver, and proceed to diftillation with a gen-tle heat. The firft drops that condenfe arenearly watery, but thofe that follow are yellowyand when about 6 oz. of liquor has diftilledover, a vaft quantity of white elaftic vapourarifes, which fills the receiver, and would burftit, if it had not vent, and of which only aportion can be condenfed, and with great diffi-culty. The fire is then to be kept up fteadilyfor an hour or more, till the bottom of the retortbecomes flightly red, during which about fix oreight ounces more of liquid are obtained.

The produdl of this diftillation is a yellow,pungent liquid, fmelling ftrongly both of am-monia, and of fulphuretted hydrogen, and givingout abundance of white fumes the moment it isuncorked. It is the liquid fulphuret of am-monia. In this procefs the ammonia, ex- 'pelled from the fal-ammoniac by means of thelime, a£ts upon the fulphur in the moment ofits formation, diflolves the fulphur, and, to-gether with the water prefen t, rifes in vapour,and condenfes in the receiver. Though onlyfix ounces of water are added to the mix-ture, full double the quantity is obtained,the reft being expelled from the flacked limeby the heat. If lefs v/ater is added, the pro-duct is ftill more fuming, and there is a ftillgreater wafte of incoercible vapour. Thiswafte, however, was only incurred before theinvention of Woulfe’s apparatus; for by itsadoption the whole of the vapour may be con-denfed, either in water, or in an alkaline folu-tion, at pleafure.

To afcertain the precife nature of this fumingfulphuret, Berthollet made the following expe-riments: the materials for producing it, name-ly, lime, fulphur, and fal-ammoniac, weremixed in a retort, and the produdl condenfedas ufual; but was received in two feparate por-tions, the firft of which was of a light yellow,al* Vol. 3.