aluminium sulfate

Also known as aluminium sulfate (2:3), dialuminium trisulfate, aluminium sesquisulfate, papermaker's alum, aluminium sulphate, aluminium sulfate (anh.), aluminum sulfate, aluminum sulphate anhydrous

chemical compound

Chemical data

Formula: Al2O12S3
Molecular weight: 342.2 g/mol
IUPAC name: bis(2,2-dioxo-1,3,2,4-dioxathialumetan-4-yl) sulfate
SMILES: O=S1(=O)O[Al](O1)OS(=O)(=O)O[Al]2OS(=O)(=O)O2
InChIKey: DIZPMCHEQGEION-UHFFFAOYSA-H
Polar surface area: 183 Å²
H-bond donors: 0
H-bond acceptors: 12
Formal charge: 0

via PubChem

Wikidata facts

Image: Aluminium sulfate.jpg

Sources (6)

Article

Aluminium sulfate is a salt with the formula Al2(SO4)3. It is soluble in water and is mainly used as a coagulating agent (promoting particle collision by neutralizing charge) in the purification of drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, and also in paper manufacturing.

The anhydrous form occurs naturally as a rare mineral millosevichite, found for example in volcanic environments and on burning coal-mining waste dumps. Aluminium sulfate is rarely, if ever, encountered as the anhydrous salt. It forms a number of different hydrates, of which the hexadecahydrate Al2(SO4)3·16H2O and octadecahydrate Al2(SO4)3·18H2O are the most common. The heptadecahydrate, whose formula can be written as [Al(H2O)6]2(SO4)3·5H2O, occurs naturally as the mineral alunogen.