zerodan
Harmless
Posts: 27
Registered: 4-4-2019
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Plastic container for mixed acid
Has anyone tried performing a nitration in a plastic test tube?
I've checked the chemical resistance of LDPE,HDPE,PP on the web and all show unsatisfactory response to "conc nitric acid" even at low temperatures,
so mixed acid is probably out of the question.
Unless they are just trying to cover their ass and PP can withstand mixed acid for a few hours. 
The only polymer I'd expect to be suited for such job is PTFE but I couldn't find any tubes/beakers locally
and imported they are very expensive.
I was thinking of preparing a few drops of NG but I've read too many scare stories to do that in glass.
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macckone
Dispenser of practical lab wisdom
Posts: 2168
Registered: 1-3-2013
Location: Over a mile high
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various PE formulations will vary.
PP will behave basically the same with some variability.
PVC is pretty good as long as the temperature is low.
I have had better luck with PVC than with PE when making nitric acid from my eyde-birkeland jacobs ladder type reactor.
But that is not nitrating acid.
For nitrating acid you are pretty well stuck with ptfe or glass.
If you are going to work with explosives, invest in a lexan shield, kevlar gloves and some sand bags.
That will be way more helpful than ptfe beakers.
setting up for remote mixing would also be helpful and an emergency quench system.
A quench system could simply be a garden hose aimed at the reaction that can be turned on to flood it out.
Another quench system is just doing the reaction over a bucket of water, if a runaway starts just dump it into the water (preferably remotely), think
string and board type set up.
If you use a stepper motor and a separatory funnel, you can control the drip rate into the reaction flask remotely.
You can do the same thing with a pair of strings and a couple of pulleys.
Working remotely with explosives is always preferable to trying to make it safer for working up close.
Having said all of that, make sure you know what you are doing and that what you are doing is legal where you are.
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