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Author: Subject: Nitric acid from ammonium nitrate?
Quince
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[*] posted on 18-4-2005 at 17:39


Quote:
Originally posted by unionised
Some of you may wish to know that treating NaHSO4 with alcohol will give you Na2SO4 and a solution of H2SO4 in alcohol.

Would this work with other bisulfates, such as K or NH4? And can you elaborate on 'decomposition'? Where is the main contamination, in the acid, or the distilled alcohol?




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neutrino
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[*] posted on 18-4-2005 at 17:51


Quote:
Originally posted by Quince
Why is that a problem? Shouldn't affect the distillation.


It would be a problem if this was used instead of a distillation. I guess I forgot to mention that part.
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[*] posted on 18-4-2005 at 19:01


Quote:
Originally posted by neutrino
This doesn't work well for concentrated solutions because CaSO<sub>4</sub> is soluble in strong acids.


Ah, I was trying to think of a way to do it without distillation. Perhaps lead carbonate can be turned into lead nitrate using ammonium nitrate (Thanks to Polverone for bringing the idea up). Sulfuric acid is added and lead sulfate precipitates and nitric acid forms. It might take awhile to make the nitrate though.

If lead carbonate doesnt work you could try lead oxides, lead hydroxide, or just lead.

[Edited on 4/19/2005 by Scratch-]
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neutrino
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[*] posted on 19-4-2005 at 12:48


I think that any such process would be doomed to failure for anything concentrated due to this equilibrium

MSO<sub>4(s)</sub> <---> M<sup>n+</sup><sub>(aq)</sub> + SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup><sub>(aq)</sub>

being shifted to the right by this one:

SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup> + H<sup>+</sup> -> HSO<sub>4</sub><sup>-</sup>
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unionised
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[*] posted on 20-4-2005 at 11:21


Quince, I don't know if it would work with other counter-ions.
Alcohol and sulphuric acid can give ether, ethylene (and it's polymers), ethyl sulphate, diethyl sulphate and probably a few others I haven't thought of.
If you get the acid hot enough it will destroy most of these so redistilling the acid would get it pretty pure.

Adding water to the acid/ alcohol mix before distilling would reduce the production of these impurities, particularly the rather nasty sulphates.
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Quince
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[*] posted on 20-4-2005 at 23:37


Sorry, after distilling the alcohol, do I expect most of the NaSO4 to precipitate, or is a second distillation of the H2SO4 necessary (especially if water was added, as you suggested)?

[Edited on 21-4-2005 by Quince]




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