Question

What happens when chlorine reacts in slaked lime?

Answer 1

Slaked lime:

• Slaked lime, or calcium hydroxide $\left(\mathrm{Ca}{\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}_2\right)$, is an inorganic substance.
• When calcium oxide $\left(\mathrm{CaO}\right)$ is combined with water $\left({\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\right)$, it produces a colorless crystal of slaked lime.

Reaction of chlorine with slaked lime:

• When chlorine $\left({\mathrm{Cl}}_2\right)$ is passed over slaked lime, it results in the formation of bleaching powder $\left({\mathrm{CaOCl}}_2\right)$.
• The reaction is as follows:

$\underset{\left(\mathrm{Chlorine}\right)}{{\mathrm{Cl}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}+\underset{\left(\mathrm{Slaked}\mathrm{lime}\right)}{\mathrm{Ca}{\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}_2\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}\to \underset{\left(\mathrm{Bleaching}\mathrm{powder}\right)}{{\mathrm{CaOCl}}_2\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}+\underset{\left(\mathrm{Water}\right)}{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}$

Therefore, the reaction of chlorine with dry slaked lime produces bleaching powder, which is calcium oxychloride.