The balanced chemical equation for the reaction between barium chloride (BaCl2) and sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) in water to produce insoluble barium sulphate (BaSO4) and sodium chloride (NaCl) is:

BaCl2 + Na2SO4 → BaSO4 + 2NaCl


The reaction between barium chloride and sodium sulphate is a double displacement reaction. In this reaction, the positively charged ions of barium chloride (Ba2+) and the negatively charged ions of sodium sulphate (SO42-) exchange places to produce new compounds.

Barium sulphate is insoluble in water and forms as a white precipitate. This reaction can be used to detect the presence of sulphate ions in a solution. Sodium chloride, on the other hand, remains in the solution as it is soluble in water.

The balanced chemical equation shows that for every one mole of barium chloride and one mole of sodium sulphate, one mole of barium sulphate and two moles of sodium chloride are produced.

This reaction is also known as a precipitation reaction because a solid precipitate (barium sulphate) is formed from the reaction of two aqueous solutions.


The reaction between barium chloride and sodium sulphate has several important applications, including:

- In the medical field, barium sulphate is used as a contrast agent in X-rays to help diagnose digestive system problems.
- In the industrial field, barium sulphate is used as a filler in plastics and rubber to increase their density and improve their mechanical properties.
- In the environmental field, barium sulphate is used as a tracer to study groundwater flow and as a marker for oil spills in marine environments.

Overall, the reaction between barium chloride and sodium sulphate is an important chemical reaction with various applications in different fields.

BaCl2 + Na2So4 ----> BaSo4 + 2NaCl