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Chemistry

Differentiate the function of concentrated sulphuric acid as a drying agent & as a dehydrating agent. Is fused calcium chloride a dehydrating or a desiccating agent. Give reasons.

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Answer

Drying agentDehydrating agent
Conc. sulphuric acid [as a drying agent] - absorbs only moisture from the substance and makes it dry without changing it's composition.Conc. sulphuric acid [as dehydrating agent] - removes water molecule from the composition of substance and reacts chemically and produces a new substance with new properties.
As a drying agent, conc. sulphuric acid is used to dry gases which are acidic in nature like chlorine, hydrogen chloride, etc.As a dehydrating agent, conc. sulphuric acid can remove chemically combined water molecules from compounds like blue vitriol [CuSO4.5H2O] and glucose [C6H12O6].

Fused calcium chloride is deliquescent in nature, absorbs moisture and hence used as a desiccating agent.

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