I have some household chemicals and I'm curious about their purity. Too lazy to titrate them myself, I'm wondering if anyone else has done a
determination on these products or similar items.
Sunnyside Muriatic Acid (label says 31.45% HCl)
Spectracide Stump Remover (potassium nitrate)
Aluminum foil (storebought, not the heavy duty kind)
Others I'll get the names of later
~Acetic Acid
[Edited on 18-8-2011 by Acetic Acid]blogfast25 - 18-8-2011 at 06:32
Likely contaminants:
Muriatic acid: iron is a very common contaminant. Test with KSCN.
Stump remover KNO3: sodium salts, other potassium salts.
Al foil: look up 'Al alloys (and their uses)'bfesser - 18-8-2011 at 12:55
Please don't take this as a dismissal or negative comment, but your question has been asked before. Try the forum search function .Acetic Acid - 18-8-2011 at 15:03
Thank you, blogfast25!Neil - 19-8-2011 at 05:27
...Find the MSDS sheets... Bot0nist - 19-8-2011 at 05:32
I don't think MSDS sheets would have unintended contaminants in them. I just looked at the sunnyside muriatic acid MSDS and it only said hydrochloric
acid 31.45%. We know for a fact that it has contaminants in it, namely trace metals. Muriatic acid is yellowish, while pure HCl (aq) should be clear. Acetic Acid - 19-8-2011 at 05:40
"I don't think MSDS sheets would have unintended contaminants in them. I just looked at the sunnyside muriatic acid MSDS and it only said hydrochloric
acid 31.45%. We know for a fact that it has contaminants in it, namely trace metals. Muriatic acid is yellowish, while pure HCl (aq) should be clear."
The MSDS sheets were looked up long ago, but are generally unreliable. Quality varies from brand to brand, store to store, and even from sample to
sample. For example, a sulfuric acid drain opener may contain 93% sulfuric acid by the MSDS, but the MSDS does not mention that the entirety of the
other 7% is carbon based contaminants that make it useless. This particular brand of muriatic acid is actually clear and looks like water, but it
still probably contains trace impurities like NaCl and H2SO4. Just a thought. Acetic Acid - 19-8-2011 at 05:43
While I'm on the topic of sulfuric acid, the best OTC source would be Rooto Professional Drain Opener, found at Ace. This stuff is 18.1M by titration,
is light yellow instead of dark brown, and costed me 14.00 for 1.9 Liters. redox - 19-8-2011 at 05:52
Do you know if it has any corrosion inhibitors? Does it smell at all?
If no, it sounds pretty pure. I have been using reagent grade, but it gets pretty pricey for the good stuff. Acetic Acid - 19-8-2011 at 05:56
The HCl smells for obvious reasons. The Rooto, if that's what you meant, doesn't really smell much unless I add water. Pure H2SO4 is ridiculously
expensive due to the haz mat fee. >.<Bot0nist - 19-8-2011 at 06:27
