[RogueRose]

I read that ammonium sulfate decomposes at 212 (strange same temp water boils...) to I guess ammonium bisulfate.  I would suspect that a scent of ammonia would emminate from the heated solution if that happens? 

Anyway, if a solution is being heated to evaporate (not vigorously, say a simmer to VERY light boil) and there is no smell of ammonia, will there still be sulfate decomposing to bisulfate? 

Upon complete evaporation of some sulfate I have noticed some strange formations of the solids.  Some form crystals and others form clumps of a much finer powder. 
 1 - clumps forms most often when heat is added and often forms around edges of container
2 - evaporation by fan
3 - evaporation in sealed container with strong dessicant in a container - no air movement - some small clumps formed around liquid edge but not as pronounced as that in labeled group #1
**all solutions came from same batch.





Now there doesn't seem to be much informatin on the bisulfate and how to identify it vs the sulfate - is there a way.  I am wondering if it works basically the same as the sulfate, but has less ammonia attached to it.  If I wanted to make ammonium chloride would I need 2x the amount of bisulfate as I do the regular sulfate?  When mixing with HCl Is there any change in how easily the ammonia releases the sulfate to accept the chlorine between the two sulfates?   

I'm just concerned that if I try to make ammonia chloride with the sulfate and bisulfate mix, I won't know how much HCl is needed b/c I don't know the ratio of sulfate/bisulfate.  Is there a way to change the bisulfate back to sulfate?

[Arkcon]

I read that ammonium sulfate decomposes at 212 (strange same temp water boils...) to I guess ammonium bisulfate.  I would suspect that a scent of ammonia would emminate from the heated solution if that happens? 

First of all:

Reactions

Ammonium sulfate decomposes upon heating above 250 °C, first forming ammonium bisulfate. Heating at higher temperatures results in decomposition into ammonia, nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, and water.[13]

  from Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_sulfate#Reactions

And I'm sure they mean dry, since a water solution can't become hotter than its boiling point.  So, decomposition with gentle heat shouldn't be a problem.

[RogueRose]

Thanks for the reply.  I know I saw the 100 deg C on the page for about a week.  The first time I reviewed it I saw what is there now with the 450 deg F range.  I verified it probably  10 times as I was really confused.  I may have a saved PDF of the page I will look for. 

On another note, there are a number of references to the 100C temp as well. 


https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiphsr2ruDKAhXGzz4KHcgJDysQFggvMAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcelbar.com%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fcelbar%2Fassets%2Fpdf%2FAmmonium%2520Sulfate.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFn7cuhNAPQmpwoaeo5VGhji7YxhA&sig2=vJciWHLsrootVBbT5vV-qQ&bvm=bv.113370389,d.cWw


https://www.reddit.com/r/chemhelp/comments/3cgpd7/ammonium_sulphate_decomposition/

Anyway, is there a good source for finding elements and compounds properties like those listed on wiki?  I'd like to find something that I can check numbers against so things like this don't happen. 

[billnotgatez]

I would like to confirm a point you made.
From your recollection for about a week on WIKIPEDIA the value for the boiling point of Ammonium Sulfate was substantially different than what is now posted on that site.
I just want to make sure I correctly understand your post.