The key difference between barium sulfate and barium sulfide is that barium sulfate is a non-toxic compound whereas barium sulfide is a highly toxic compound.
Barium sulfate and barium sulfide are inorganic compounds. These are salts of barium chemical element. We can easily obtain barium sulfate from barium sulfide.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Barium Sulfate
3. What is Barium Sulfide
4. Relationship Between Sulfate and Barium Sulfide
5. Side by Side Comparison – Sulfate vs Barium Sulfide in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Barium Sulfate?
Barium sulfate is an inorganic compound having the chemical formula BaSO4. This is a solid compound at room temperature and pressure and appears as a white crystalline solid substance that is odourless and insoluble in water. This compound occurs naturally in the mineral deposit “barite”. This mineral is the main commercial source of barium and its compounds. Barium sulfate has a high density and is insoluble in alcohol as well. However, we can dissolve this substance in hot, concentrated sulfuric acid.
Figure 01: Barium Sulfate
There are many different uses of barium sulfate, including its use as a component of oil well drilling fluid where it can increase the fluid density, medical use as a radiocontrast agent for the X-ray imaging processes, as a component of white pigment for paints, a coating on photographic paper to increase the reflectiveness of the image, a filler for plastics, useful in soil testing, etc.
Most of the commercially available barium sulfate is obtained industrially from barite mineral deposits. Often, this mineral is highly impure. Therefore, we need to process it by a carbothermal reduction in order to get barium sulfide. From barium sulfide, we can easily get highly pure barium sulfate.
Soluble salts of barium salt are considered as moderately toxic compounds. But due to the highly insoluble nature of this compound, barium sulfate is considered as a non-toxic compound.
What is Barium Sulfide?
Barium sulfide is an inorganic compound having the chemical formula BaS. It is a colourless solid compound, but there can be coloured variations as well due to the presence of impurities. This compound is relatively water-soluble and readily converts into the oxide form (barium oxide), carbonate form, and halides. However, it is insoluble in alcohols. Barium sulfide is important as a precursor for the production of other barium compounds such as barium carbonate, lithopone pigment, etc.
Figure 02: Crystal Structure of Barium Sulfide
Currently, barium sulfide is produced through an improved process of Casciarolus’s process, which uses coke. It involves a carbothermic reaction. Here, barium sulfide crystallizes in the NaCl structure, showing octahedral barium and sulfide centres.
More importantly, barium sulfide is poisonous. It can evolve into hydrogen sulfide easily upon contact with water. Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas. Most related sulfides, such as calcium sulfide (CaS) have this ability.
What is the Relationship Between Barium Sulfate and Barium Sulfide?
- Barium sulfate and barium sulfide are inorganic compounds.
- These are salts of barium chemical element.
- We can easily obtain barium sulfate from barium sulfide.
What is the Difference Between Barium Sulfate and Barium Sulfide?
Barium sulfate and barium sulfide are inorganic compounds. The key difference between barium sulfate and barium sulfide is that barium sulfate is a non-toxic compound whereas barium sulfide is a highly toxic compound. We can easily obtain barium sulfate from barium sulfide.
Below infographic lists the differences between barium sulfate and barium sulfide in tabular form.
Summary – Barium Sulfate vs Barium Sulfide
Barium sulfate and barium sulfide are inorganic compounds. The key difference between barium sulfate and barium sulfide is that barium sulfate is a non-toxic compound whereas barium sulfide is a highly toxic compound.
Reference:
1. “Barium Sulfide Overview.” Science Direct, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Bariumsulfatpulver” By de:Benutzer:the-viewer – de.Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “NaCl polyhedra” By Solid State – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia