Nitric acid. Getting and using

Modern chemistry is a science that operates with a large number of reagents. These can be salts, reagents, alkalis. But the most numerous group is acids. These are complex compounds based on hydrogen. In this case, foreign atoms here can be replaced by metal atoms. Acids are used in various branches of human activity. For example, in medicine, the food industry, in the production of household goods. That is why this group of reagents should be especially carefully studied.

Basic information about nitric acid

This is a strong reagent that belongs to the category of monocomponent acids. It looks like a normal clear liquid. Sometimes there is a yellowish tinge. This is due to the fact that at a warm temperature, nitric oxide accumulates on the surface. Nitrogen dioxide may also appear as a brown precipitate. But it happens under the sun. When exposed to air, the acid begins to smoke strongly. In addition, it normally reacts with metals. It dissolves perfectly in water, but in the case of ether there are a number of limitations.

What forms of release exist? In total, two are shared - ordinary (concentration 65-68%) and smoky (at least 85%). In this case, the color of the smoke can vary greatly. If the concentration is 86-95%, then it is white. Is the percentage higher? Then you will see red.

Receipt process

Today it does not differ both in the case of strong and weak concentration. It can be divided into several stages.

Crystalline oxidation of synthetic ammonia occurs.
It is necessary to wait until nitrous gases form.
All the water contained in the composition is absorbed.
At the final stage, it is necessary to wait until the acid reaches the required concentration.

How is storage and transportation?

This reagent does not belong to the category of particularly aggressive. Therefore, there are not so many requirements for storage and transportation. It is required to keep the acid in sealed containers made of aluminum or chromium steel. Laboratory glass is also suitable. As for the tanks, they should be marked "Dangerous". The same applies to small containers.

Precautions for use

This chemical reagent belongs to strong acids. It has III hazard class. Those persons who are allowed to work with this substance must receive appropriate instruction. In the room you must be in special clothing. It includes overalls, gloves, respirators, goggles. Individual respiratory and eye protection equipment is required. The consequences of non-compliance with safety requirements can be serious. If the acid gets on the skin, it will cause burns and ulcers. Will you breathe it in? Then you will get very poisoned or even get pulmonary edema. So in the laboratories it is necessary to organize constant monitoring, ask employees to be instructed on safety measures.

Where is nitric acid used?

Due to its chemical properties, this acid is used in many industries. A few should be singled out. First of all, it is industry. With it, you can easily synthesize artificial fibers. In addition, often nitric acid is the main component in the manufacture of motor oil. Surely you know that it is used in metallurgy. With it, you can dissolve and etch metals. There is a special industrial nitric acid that does a better job of solving the problems described.

Application in everyday life

It is used to make products that allow you to effectively clean jewelry at home. But you need to be extremely careful not to allow these products to come into contact with the skin. With drip irrigation, nitric acid can be used as a cleaner. A concentration of 60% will be enough to get rid of salts or dissolve sediment in a drip system.

What is the application in medicine?

If you look at the composition of some medicines, you will see that they contain nitric acid. For example, 30% is used to fight warts. Also often this component is added to the means to combat peptic ulcers. It is an excellent antiseptic with astringent properties.

Agricultural use

Agronomists need mineral fertilizers in order to make the crop richer. Some of them contain nitric acid. But it is necessary to clearly calculate the dose so that the resulting vegetables and fruits do not cause any harm to health. If there is too much acid, then nitrates will accumulate in the cultures. There are several types of acid-based fertilizers: amide, ammonia, nitrate.

But this reagent has salts, which are used even more often in agriculture. They are added to some drugs that are given to animals.

What can be said in conclusion?

As you can see, nitric acid is a very important component that is used in a huge number of industries. Without it, it would be impossible to imagine modern life. And chemists on a regular basis come up with where else this reagent can be used.

In contact with

Belongs to monobasic preparations of weak action. It is characterized by the absence of color and a pungent odor. The drug is hygroscopic, characterized by the ability to react with many types of solvents and combines well with organic substances and gases. When interacting with active metals, it forms salts, and when the temperature drops to -16 ° C, it turns into a crystalline mass.

Ways and methods of obtaining

An industrial way to create acetic acid is the use of catalysts in the oxygen oxidation of acetaldehyde. The process takes place at high pressure and temperature. Depending on the technology, manganese, rhodium or cobalt catalysts can be used. For the food industry in the production of acetic acid, a biocatalytic method is used using enzymes of acetic acid bacteria and liquids containing ethanol.

The substance was discovered in ancient times due to the violation of winemaking technology. The vinegar formed in sour wine was found to be used in everyday life, and the acid began to be used as a seasoning for food, a medicine and an organic solvent.

It is a clear liquid, may have a noticeable yellow tint. It dissolves in water and has a peculiar smell. You should be careful when using this substance, as it can damage the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract and cause poisoning.

Ways and methods of obtaining

On an industrial scale, HNO 3 is obtained by oxidizing synthetic ammonia (platinum-rhodium alloys are used as a catalyst) to nitrogen dioxide. The resulting gas is then passed through water, resulting in an acid with a concentration of 45 to 58%.

Concentrated HNO 3 is produced by adding sulfuric acid to the resulting solution. Then the whole mixture is heated, evaporation of HNO 3 occurs. Another way to obtain a concentrate is also possible, when in the process of the reaction of the interaction of water, oxygen and nitrogen dioxide, the pressure rises to 50 atmospheres.

• Nitric acid of high concentration (95-98%) "smokes" in the air;
• The acid dissolves all metals, except for some elements of the platinum group. This problem is solved by mixing it with hydrochloric acid (HCl) in a certain proportion.
• HNO 3 is unstable and, when heated to high temperatures, can easily decompose into the original compounds in the form of water and nitrogen dioxide.

The very first acid that mankind managed to isolate and use, of course, was acetic acid. And the term "acid" itself (from the Latin "acid") probably came from the Latin "acetum" - vinegar. Violation of technology, in the production of wine by winemakers of antiquity, led to its souring and the formation of vinegar. At first it was poured, but then it was used as a seasoning, medicine and solvent.

In 1778, the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier suggested that acidic properties are due to the presence of oxygen in their composition. This hypothesis turned out to be untenable, since many acids do not have oxygen in their composition, while many oxygen-containing compounds do not exhibit acidic properties. Nevertheless, it was this hypothesis that gave the name to oxygen as a chemical element. And only in 1833, the German chemist Justus Liebig defined an acid as a hydrogen-containing compound in which hydrogen can be replaced by a metal.

The degree of acidity of a solution is determined by the concentration of hydrogen ions in it, which is usually expressed as the number of gram ions per l. For convenience, the acidity of solutions is usually expressed in the so-called pH value. Distilled water has pH = 7, if it is lower then the solution becomes acidic, and if it is higher it becomes alkaline. Measurements are taken on a scale from 0 to 14.

The human stomach is forced to renew its surface every day to replace the one affected by gastric juice, that is, hydrochloric acid. Human stomach acid is aggressive enough to completely dissolve a razor blade in a week.
A mixture of two acids, nitric and hydrochloric in a ratio of 1 to 3, is a yellow liquid and has the unique ability to dissolve many precious metals (gold, platinum), for which it received the name "Aqua regia".

Not many people know that an important ingredient in the popular Coca-Cola is phosphoric acid, with a pH value of 2.8.
Formic acid is so named because at the moment of danger it is secreted by ants to warn other inhabitants of the anthill, and protect against predators.

In warm-blooded animals, a small amount of lactic acid is produced during the metabolic process, and its smell allows mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects to find their victims.

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid has the formula C6H8O6 and is a water-soluble vitamin involved in the biochemical redox processes of the human body.
Citric acid is obtained not only from lemons (25 kg per ton of lemons), but also from the fungus Aspergillus niger.

Every day, one way or another, we have contact with acids. We will not delve into the study of acids and boring chemical formulas, but will voice a few facts that will certainly be interesting to know.

Fact #1: The first acid discovered by man was acetic acid. Perhaps acetic acid in antiquity would not have been identified if it were not for the predilection of people of the past for wine. If you violate the technology of the winemaking process, then instead of fragrant and tasty wine, you get vinegar. This was very upsetting and frustrating. Ancient people could not find an application for wine vinegar, so they simply poured out the sour product. Only many years later, wine vinegar began to be used as a medicine, seasoning and even a solvent. By the way, the name "acid" itself comes from the Latin word "acetum" - vinegar.

Fact #2: Gastric juice is the real hydrochloric acid. Every day our stomach is forced to renew its surface, which has suffered as a result of exposure to gastric juice. You will be surprised now, but the environment in your stomach is so aggressive that if you put a razor blade in it, it will completely dissolve in a week.

Fact #3: Orthophosphoric acid is an important ingredient in Coca Cola. In its field of application, phosphoric acid is simply unique. It is used everywhere, from the food industry to the production of fertilizers. The acidity index of everyone's favorite Coca Cola is pH = 2.8, so putting jewelry into a glass of drink can get rid of plaque and dirt.

Fact #5: Citric acid is not always citric. In order to obtain 25 kg of citric acid, it is necessary to process one ton of lemons. Agree, this is a very expensive pleasure. Man found a loophole here too, so citric acid is often obtained from a mold called Aspergillus niger.

Fact #6:"Royal vodka" - a combination of two acids. If we combine hydrochloric acid with nitric acid in a strict proportion of 1 to 3, we will end up with a yellow liquid that can dissolve most of the noble metals known to us, such as platinum, gold, and so on. Therefore, when you hear the prefix "royal" to a strong drink, do not rush to rejoice, because we are talking about the strongest poison.