Chemistry Question: Chlorine + Ink Interaction?

[TassoBarbasso]

Hi All!

 

A "chemical" question: what is the effect of chlorine on inks? I know the impact on the environment and I try to use only totally chlorine free paper when possible, but I'm wondering: is there a difference in the way inks react on different kinds of paper: paper with chlorine, elementally chlorine free paper and totally chlorine free paper?

 

I'm especially interested in the impact of chlorine on inks in terms of permanence: will inks fade away faster on paper that contains chlorine? Will this happen with permanent inks (iron galls or noodlers) as well?

 

thanks,

Fabio

[TassoBarbasso]

Come on guys, 22 views and not a single reply? No one was good in chemistry at high school?

[MisterBoll]

Since no one is giving you the answer you so desire why don't you do a little experiment, with proper ventilation of course, and report back.

[dcwaites]

It depends on the ink, specifically the dye/pigment component in the ink.

Also you don't have chlorine in paper, but, depending on the method of manufacture, you may have chlorine by-products.

 

If you ask "what is the effect of chlorine compound X on modern Parker Quink Blue-Black" you may get an answer back.

 

If you ask "what is the effect of chlorine compound X on vintage Parker Quink Blue-Black with Solv-X" you will get a different answer back.

 

If you ask "what is the effect of elemental chlorine on Noodler's Bulletproof Black" you will get a different answer still.

 

But, elemental chlorine will only come into contact with ink in a laboratory situation.

[lapis]

Elemental (molecular) chlorine can only be purchased in special containers anyway. Or produced by you or a technician within a "sterile hood" in front of you. As said above, no papers have chlorine in them. You probably meant "chlorine-bleached paper" which isn't all that dangerous anyhow, otherwise your ahh, you-know-what-paper wouldn't have been manufactured in such a way. "Chlorine-bleached" usually means bleached with hypochlorite, and that's the stuff we occasionally use to oxidize and thus decolour any ink remains.

[UncleNick]

Chlorine gas would bleach most inks. However, that would be the least of your problems.

[TassoBarbasso]

Hi All,

 

I now realize how silly my question was

 

sorry, my mark in Chemistry at high school was 5/10...

 

So, I actually meant "residues of chlorine-bleached papers".

 

thank you all for your answers.

 

cheers,
Fabio

[farmerjohn]

Hi All,

 

I now realize how silly my question was

 

sorry, my mark in Chemistry at high school was 5/10...

 

So, I actually meant "residues of chlorine-bleached papers".

 

thank you all for your answers.

 

cheers,

Fabio

It is not a silly question it is just a question that has a lot more variables than you would think.

first in order for chlorine to be in liquid state it has to be either very cold or under a lot of pressure (107 PSI/737kilopascal or below -35C) so most forms you see it in will be in chlorates

chlorine bonds easily with many chemicals so with a unknown solution (the ink) and what chlorine based compound you are using it is entirely possible that you could have any number of reactions and side reactions

without knowing the exact composition of the solution in question it is not very easy to speak in generalities as to what would happen.

 

if you knew what was in a particular bottle of ink ingredient wise I would jump over to http://www.sciencemadness.org it is a forum of chemistry geeks who have much deeper understanding of chemistry than I as I am a BIO major and not chemistry but they could tell you exactly what you could expect.

 

 

Side note if your going to be mixing chemicals together do it in a fume hood and wear the proper safety equipment would hate for you to make a poison gas cloud in your kitchen

[lapis]

I don't need a fume hood in my kitchen. I love garlic.