mewrox99
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HDPE as a storage for Sulfuric Acid
I bought 5L of H2SO4, which arrived in what looks to be a HDPE container.
This amount of acid should take me, years to go through.
My question. 2-4 years from now, what if any damage to the bottle should I expect.
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woelen
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If I were you I would rebottle it in glass bottles with decent plastic caps. I have no confidence in long-term storage of concentrated sulphuric acid
in anything else than glass.
Fortunately, concentrated sulphuric acid does not fume, so, if it is stored in glas bottles, filled for 80% and the cap is tightly closed, then the
cap will not be corroded by the acid, simply because the acid does not touch the cap.
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azo
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hdpe containers are designed to biodegrade and in direct sunlight they start to break apart and cracks develop within 12 months , i think im with
woelen i can only trust a good thick glass bottle 
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rrkss
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HDPE is supposed to be chemically compatable wtih concentrated H2SO4 however, my personal practice is to store diluted H2SO4 in HDPE and my
concentrated stuff in glass. I'd rather be safe than sorry.
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iHME
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My labgrade concentrated H2SO4 came in a UHDPE bottle.
The bottle is already stained black/darkblue on the inside, but according to some online sources that is all that H2SO4 does to HDPE/UHDPE, it stains
it.
It\'s a catastrophic success.
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Jimmymajesty
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When I was younger I tried to store H2SO4 and HNO3 in PET bottle, now that I grew up I store the H2SO4 in HDPE and the nitric in glass bottle
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mycotheologist
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The hardware shops here sell 98% H2SO4 drain cleaner in HDPE containers. Heres a chart for HDPE chemical resistance:
http://pt.rexnord.com/products/guards/orange_peel_guards/hdp...
they list 98% H2SO4 as GG meaning it shows little or no damage after 30 days of exposure. The first G is at room temperature, the 2nd G is at 50C.
I've had a HDPE bottle of 98% H2SO4 for over a year now and it hasn't degraded in any way from what I can see.
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Arthur Dent
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I second the opinion about replacing the HDPE bottle with a good glass bottle/container... the HDPE container is just a temporary vessel since most
"industrial" chemicals are used quite rapidly... I wouldn't leave it too long in there.
I've had recently an unfortunate experience with HDPE that surprised me (and scared me a little). I had this 1 liter white HDPE bottle that contained
99% isopropanol. Rencently as I was pouring some of it in a squirt bottle, the container literally shattered under the pressure of my fingers! Thank
god it was only iso, because had it been sulphuric acid, I would have been one hell of a mess!
Since then, i've transfered most of my liquid reagents to glass reagent bottles, I feel safer that way, because there's no way any of these compounds
will eat through glass.
The only exception are HCl, which comes in HDPE but I use it often so I never have a bottle for more than 6 months, and the solid NaOH and KOH
bottles, which are HDPE but I hope will last long enough till I use 'em.
Robert
--- Art is making something out of nothing and selling it. - Frank Zappa ---
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