Detection of Chlorine, Bromine, and Iodine
Chlorine and Bleaching Chlorides
The detection of chlorine is very difficult owing to the great tendency it possesses to become converted into chlorides or hydrochloric acid, and it is only when found in a free state that its discovery is of importance.
In case the gas exists uncombined in the alimentary canal, its odor will be perceptible, and, upon boiling the suspected materials with water, vapors will be evolved which impart a blue color to paper saturated with a mixture of iodide of potassium and starch paste. If the addition of sulphuric acid is necessary in order to produce the above reactions, there is reason to suspect the presence of “chloride of lime” or “Eau de Javelle.”J