nannah
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Shelf life of Ammonia and Muriatic acid
Hi, guys. I just wanted to drop in and ask if you guys know what shelf life for Muriatic acid and Ammonia?
Today when i was visiting my grandmother, i found two plastic bottles in the garage. They were covered in dust. They must have been there for a long
time.
One of the bottles had its label peeled off so i couldn´t read it, but i think it is Muriatic acid. The other one were 25% Ammonia.
I was wondering if Ammonia and HCl expire and turns bad after a while? Becouse my HCl is kind of yellow in color, and all the HCl i have ever seen
were transparant, like water.
Btw, somebody know if there is a way to find out if it is Muriatic acid i got?
Thanks in advance. 
[Edited on 17-4-2014 by nannah]
[Edited on 17-4-2014 by nannah]
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elementcollector1
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If it's yellow, it's got iron contamination. If the bottle was kept in a cool area and tightly capped, it should be fine (this goes for ammonia too).
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copperastic
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Nannah i found some old HCl in my basement and it was yellow too. I don't know what that means though. You could try reacting it with aluminum and if
it fizzes it might be HCl.
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copperastic
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My above post was wrong because sulfuric acid and other acids fizz hydrogen when reacted with aluminum.
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DraconicAcid
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If HCl is contaminated by iron or copper salts, it will be yellow.
If it is HCl, it will react readily with aluminum foil (although copper will catalyze this), and it will slowly corrode copper when exposed to air
(put some wire into a beaker, pour in just enough acid to cover it, let it sit for a day. If it foams and gives off horribly toxic brown gas, then
it's nitric acid or aqua regia, not hydrochloric). The acid will also be volatile (pour some into a beaker, pour some of the ammonia into another
beaker, and hold them close together. Lots of white fumes means you have a volatile acid, which will not be sulphuric).
If it's concentrated hydrochloric acid, you can test for that with a saturated solution of salt. Take a few mL of saturated sodium chloride, and add
your muriatic acid. If it's truly concentrated, a few drops will give a precipitate of salt. If it's not quite concentrated, you may have to add a
bit more. If you don't get any precipitate, then it's either dilute, or a different acid.
Please remember: "Filtrate" is not a verb.
Write up your lab reports the way your instructor wants them, not the way your ex-instructor wants them.
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LanthanumK
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I found an old opened bottle of 20% or so hydrochloric acid at my grandmother's house. It was highly potent, though somewhat yellowed. The bottle will
leach fumes but the acid will not decrease in acidity measurably if sealed properly.
hibernating...
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woelen
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Both hydrochloric acid and ammonia have infinite shelf life if they are stored in well-sealed bottles.
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sasan
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It is better to store in the colored bottles like amber glasses.Recently I change my colorless plastic bottle of 37%HCl,because when I pressed the
bottle with my fingers,It broke like a glass,it got somewhat inflexible in the presence of HCl
Most of the chemicals if stored in a suitable conditions and bottles,have infinite shelf life,and some have a short life,like complexes,hygroscopic
materials,biochemicals and ...
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HgDinis25
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Sasan, what was your bottle made of? AFAIK, most plastic won't be affected by HCl at any concentation. I can't remember a single one affected by it.
Only CAB gets slighty affected but on passing years only.
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sasan
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Hgdinis 25 it was made of poly ethylene I think
I'm wondering too why the bottle got inflexible,as a matter of fact,before I place the HCl in it,there was rhodium sulfate and dilute sulfuric in the
bottle
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nannah
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Quote: Originally posted by elementcollector1  | | If it's yellow, it's got iron contamination. If the bottle was kept in a cool area and tightly capped, it should be fine (this goes for ammonia too).
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That was my first thought, but the bottles cap was sealed. The bottle has been there for years.
Is there any way to get rid of it? I´m checking it right now.
I read that you can concentrate Ammonia using gas washing. That was pretty cool.
| Quote: Originally posted by woelen | | Both hydrochloric acid and ammonia have infinite shelf life if they are stored in well-sealed bottles. |
Yes, that sounds right. I changed the bottle yesterday, into a HDPE bottle.
When i poured it over into the funnel it fumed just like the HCl i have had before.
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Burner
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| Quote: Originally posted by sasan | Hgdinis 25 it was made of poly ethylene I think
I'm wondering too why the bottle got inflexible,as a matter of fact,before I place the HCl in it,there was rhodium sulfate and dilute sulfuric in the
bottle |
I am guessing that the bottle might have been LDPE and may have had extensive sunlight exposure. I have seen that happen before, though it should not
occur.
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Texium
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| Quote: Originally posted by nannah | | Quote: Originally posted by elementcollector1 | | If it's yellow, it's got iron contamination. If the bottle was kept in a cool area and tightly capped, it should be fine (this goes for ammonia too).
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That was my first thought, but the bottles cap was sealed. The bottle has been there for years.
Is there any way to get rid of it? I´m checking it right now.
|
Iron contamination often occurs in low quality HCl like you find in hardware store "muriatic acid." It would have come with the stuff that you bought
and not been introduced afterward.
Despite that, some brands are actually quite pure. When I started rounding up chemicals from around the house, I found a gallon of SMART brand 31.45%
muriatic acid in my garage that had been there for about ten years. It is almost completely clear. You have to try really hard to imagine that it has
the slightest yellow tint. I noticed at Home Depot the other day that they still sell that exact brand, and it comes in clear plastic jugs so you can
actually see that it's colorless.
Also, if you're still not sure if what you have is HCl, carefully give it a smell. If you are treated to a strong odor of chlorine/vinegar-from-hell
then it is HCl.
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HgDinis25
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| Quote: Originally posted by Burner | | Quote: Originally posted by sasan | Hgdinis 25 it was made of poly ethylene I think
I'm wondering too why the bottle got inflexible,as a matter of fact,before I place the HCl in it,there was rhodium sulfate and dilute sulfuric in the
bottle |
I am guessing that the bottle might have been LDPE and may have had extensive sunlight exposure. I have seen that happen before, though it should not
occur. |
Agree. Most low quality plastics like PET, PE, LDPE etc. will get weaker over time, if not stored in the right conditions. Too much heat, too much
cold, too much sun light, all this makes the plastic weaker.
Also, plastics that suffer aging tend to shatter...
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