Dear Learned Ones…
Several years ago when confronted with the assertion that we couldn’t store nitric acid and acetic acid together (or nitric acid n a wooden shelf) because they were incompatible
I conducted an experiment.
1.
I took glacial acetic acid and added concentrated nitric acid while stirring, anticipating a reaction… nothing happened. It didn’t get hot, cold or have gas evolve
2.
So after reaching a 50:50 mix I began heating while stirring (did I mention this was in a hood with proper PPE and a written procedure way back in the early 1990’s)
3.
I got in boiling and still there was no obvious reaction.
4.
Now I added pencil shavings in small amounts in the belief it would catch on fire…
5.
Nothing apparent happened.
6.
So I added more.
7.
Finally after 20 minutes mild boiling with concentrated nitric, glacial acetic and wood pieces I squirted just a drop of acetone a definitely got the reaction I expected
(flame)
Does anyone have a real world experience where nitric acid caused an unwanted reaction with acetic acid or a wooden shelf?
Sincerely,
-Russ
Russell Vernon, Ph.D.
Director
Environmental Health & Safety
University of California, Riverside
900 University Ave
Riverside, CA 92521
russell.vernon**At_Symbol_Here**ucr.edu
Direct (951) 827-5119
Admin (951) 827-5528
Fax (951) 827-5122
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