Calcium acetate

Description

A white powder prepared by treating Acetic acid with Calcium carbonate or Lime. Calcium acetate is a water-soluble compound that has been used for aqueous and nonaqueous neutralization and alkalization of paper (AIC Book and Paper Catalog). However, during the neutralization process, calcium acetate is converted to calcium carbonate with the release of acetic acid. Any residual calcium acetate will continue to release acetic acid. Calcium acetate has also been used to reintroduce calcium ions into weathered glass (Corvaia, et. al 1996). Calcium acetate is used commercially as a mordant in dyeing and printing textiles, for liming rosin, for curing and tanning skins, and as a metallic soap.

Chemical structure

Synonyms and Related Terms

calcium diacetate; lime acetate; acetate of lime; vinegar salts; gray acetate; brown acetate

Risks

• Combustible.
• ThermoFisher: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Rod-shaped crystals.
• Soluble in water (pH = 7.6 for 0.2M solution).
• Slightly soluble in methanol. Insoluble in ethanol, acetone, benzene.

Composition	C4H6CaO4
CAS	62-54-4
Melting Point	> 160 C
Density	about 1.5 g/ml
Molecular Weight	mol. wt. = 158.17

Resources and Citations

• C.Corvaia, I.MacLeod, C.Harley "Conservation of Glass Recovered from Shipwreck Sites" ICOM preprints, 1996 Edinburgh, vol.II p.819-825.

• Thomas Gregory, The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Reinhold Publishing, New York, 3rd ed., 1942

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 133

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 1683

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• Book and Paper Group, Paper Conservation Catalog, AIC, 1984, 1989