Description
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Strontium is an alkaline earth metal that has a white silvery metallic color, or yellow tinge, in its natural solid state. Strontium has high reactive characteristics, and is extremely reactive with water and air. Strontium has an atomic weight of 87.62, a melting point of 1431 °F, and a boiling point of 2520 °F. Some common uses of strontium include: as a component in fireworks and flares, as a component in optical materials, in the production of glass for television color tubes, and in the process of refining zinc.
Isolation
Strontium is not found freely in nature but occurs in minerals. Different types of isolation processes are used to extract strontium from its mineral sources.
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The most common forms of strontium that are used for isolation are the sulfate mineral celestine and the carbonate strontianite. Celestine contains strontium sulfate, and it is the form of strontium that is more abundant in nature; this is the form that is more commonly used for isolation purposes. Strontium metal can be extracted and isolated from strontium chloride by mixing heated, melted, strontium chloride with potassium chloride followed by electrolysis. Three different allotropes of strontium can be isolated. Pure strontium can be isolated from its oxide form by using a reduction reaction with aluminum; the process takes place in a vacuum at a temperature in which strontium can be distilled off in.
Strontium can be isolated on a small laboratory basis, but the process is highly inefficient due to the small amounts of strontium that are collected. Strontium is normally isolated on a commercial basis for its common commercial uses.