Batman gets in his big boy armor to be able to play with everyone else. Don't worry, Superman shows him a thing or two. However, his way of dealing with Aquaman is to spray him with an absorbent compound, magnesium sulfate, which will dry Mr. Landfish out.
Questions:
1.) Is magnesium carbonate an absorbing agent?
2.) Is it the worlds best absorbing agent?
3.) How do absorbing agents work?
Answers:
1.) Yes, magnesium carbonate (MgCO3) is used as a drying agent. It can hold 5 moles of water per 1 mole of magnesium carbonate.
2.) No, magnesium carbonate is only a moderate strength drying agent. magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) is also an absorbing agent. It's strength is moderate by holding onto 7 moles of water compounds per 1 mole of magnesium sulfate. It is an acidic drying agent that works in many solvents However, sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) is better as it can hold 10 moles of water. A polymer, sodium polyacrylate (the compound on the right), is super absorbent. It can hold up to 800 times its weight in water which is the equivalent of about 1500 moles per one mole of sodium polyacrylate. |
Sources:
http://www.chem.ucla.edu/~bacher/Specialtopics/Drying%20Agents.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_carbonate
http://ncsu.edu/project/chemistrydemos/Organic/Superabsorbent.pdf