Colloidal Minerals
Colloidal (Kol-oid-al) chemistry is not new,
but it is not widely known about or understood by the general
public. Simply said, a colloid refers to a substance that exists
as ultra-fine particles that are suspended in a medium of different
matter. The colloidal state is the state of a solute (mineral
or other substance such as a paint pigment) in a solution when
its molecules do not separate into atoms as with a true solution
(sodium chloride or salt separates into separate sodium and chloride
atoms while in solution), but rather they remain grouped together
to form solute particles.
The presence of these inorganic colloidal
particles, which are approximately one hundred-thousandth to
one ten-millionth of a centimeter in diameter (about 400 thousandths
to four millionths of an inch), can often be detected by means
of an electron microscope. As a result of the grouping of the
molecules, a solute in the colloidal state cannot pass through
a suitable semipermeable membrane and gives rise to negligible
osmotic pressure (they will pass through filter paper), depression
of freezing point and elevation of boiling point effects.
These ultra-fine particles of the colloid
are just barely larger than most molecules and so small they
can't be seen with the naked eye - about one billion of these
colloid particles would fit into a cubic 0.01 of an inch.
The "solution" part of a colloid
provides a solid, gas or liquid medium in which the colloid particles
are suspended. The suspended particles in a colloid can also
be a solid, a gas or a liquid
Solutions were classified by H Freundlich
(1925) into three categories:
- True solutions
- Colloidal solutions
- Emulsions and suspensions.
The four part method of classifying solutions
is as follows:
- Identify particle size.
- Determine presence of Brownian movement (random
movement of particles suspended in liquids or gasses resulting
from the impact of molecules of the fluid surrounding the particles).
- Ability to pass through filter paper.
- Level of solubility
In 1975, S. S. Voyutsky (a Russian) wrote
the classic text on colloidal chemistry. Voyutsky referred to
solutions as "molecular dispersion systems" and "heterogeneous
highly dispersed colloidal systems."
The exact point between the molecular and
colloidal degrees of dispersion cannot be established because
the transition from molecularly dispersed systems to coarsely
dispersed systems is a continuous range.
A colloidal system must have three basic characteristics:
- It must be heterogeneous (consists of dissimilar
ingredients or constituents).
- The system must be multi-phasic (i.e.solid/liquid,
gas/liquid, etc.).
- The particles must be insoluble (do not dissolve
in the solution).
Each one of these classifications interunique
qualities. The interesting thing about colloids is that they
remain heterogeneous, multi-phasic and insoluble at different
concentrations as long as a larger number if not all of the particles
are within the range of sizes of colloids ( In to 100n).
The molecular groups or particles of the colloid
solute carry a resultant electrical charge, generally of the
same sign (negative) for all of the particles. A small percentage
of these inorganic colloids will pass through the intestine of
a living animal or human because a natural chelating process
takes place in the gut in the presence of protein-containing
food.
Inorganic colloidal material which readily
passes through filter paper may be separated from dissolved substances,
such as starch, sugar or salt, by placing the mixture of mineral
colloid and non colloid in a parchment shell surrounded by distilled
water. The inorganic colloids are "too large" to pass
through the membrane, but the molecules of salt, starch and sugar
or any other dissolved substance pass readily through the semipermeable
membrane (they separate into individual atoms or very small molecules).
This kind of separation process is called dialysis.
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