what is the easiest acid to make

[jordehwa]

i just want to know what the easiest acid to make is and how to make it .Besides vinegar.

 

thanks.

[Horza2002]

Well that would depend on what your start from...must about any acid can be "easily" made from the complete oxidation of the corresponding alcohol...heat it in CrO3 solution and you'll have your acid with a few hours!

 

If you mean easily avaliable, then tartaric acid is very easy to get hold off and use (although it is a diacid as apposed to a mono).

[dr.syntax]

i just want to know what the easiest acid to make is and how to make it .Besides vinegar.

 

thanks.

 

REPLY: I would say uric acid because all you need to do is pee and there is some uric acid in the urine. ...ds

[Theophrastus]

Firstly I believe this is a repeat of an old thread if I'm not mistaken...hmm?

 

As for uric acid, yes it can be found in urine, but in what purity? A wretched one, which would make it absolutely useless.

 

I recommend that you start by buying one strong mineral acid (usually hydrochloric or sulfuric) and working your way up from there, as these can then further be used to make tons of organic, carboxylic acids, from their respective salts, when required and so forth. You can also then later, once you have enough technical, and theoretical experience, work with some even nastier (though useful) stuff like hydroiodic or nitric acid. You can easily buy hydrochloric acid at most hardware stores as "muriatic acid," and similarly, I believe I've heard sulfuric can be bought as "car- battery acid," though I've never done so myself. Happy experimenting.

 

ps:I presume you know the risks associated with these stronger acids, if you don't, or are unsure, just consult MSDS (material safety data sheets; just type it in on google and you'll find your relevant querry)

 

pps: and regarding horza's method, I know potassium permanganate (another strong oxidisers) to my own alarm, I found out very recently that it is sold quite commonly in certain pharmacies. Addition of potassium permanganate to alcohols wil yield the corresponding carboxylic acid, and the reaction runs to completion. In contrast, I find chromate would yield primarily an aldehyde product, unless you use excess oxidiser and heat it rather nicely, as it is a much weaker oxidiser. I believe dichromate would be more efficient in this respect. Chromates also happen to be carcinogenic, which... well... isn't quite fun.

Edited October 15, 2009 by Theophrastus

[John Cuthber]

The oxidation of alcohols by permanganate or dichromate only works properly in the presence of a strong acid so that's not a very usefull way of making an acid.

Lactic acid from sour milk is probably one of the easiest ones.

[jordehwa]

ok thanks you guys

[Horza2002]

pps: and regarding horza's method, I know potassium permanganate (another strong oxidisers) to my own alarm, I found out very recently that it is sold quite commonly in certain pharmacies. Addition of potassium permanganate to alcohols wil yield the corresponding carboxylic acid, and the reaction runs to completion. In contrast, I find chromate would yield primarily an aldehyde product, unless you use excess oxidiser and heat it rather nicely, as it is a much weaker oxidiser. I believe dichromate would be more efficient in this respect. Chromates also happen to be carcinogenic, which... well... isn't quite fun.

 

 

 

Once u place CrO3 in water it naturally forms a dichromate species that can then act as an oxidising agent. If you do this reaction in the presence of acid as well, the resulting aldehyde or ketone can be hydrated (protonation of the carbonyl followed by attack of water). This acetal can then be though of as a sort of 'diol' and one is then oxidised to again to give the acid. With regards to toxicicty, chromium is EXTREMELY toxic as are all the metals (i.e. heavy metal poisioning). If you do decide to use these methods or the strong acids themselves you should take great care are tke proper precautions.

[jordehwa]

Thanks guys.

 

I was wondering how dangerus is a 30% solution of hydrochloric acid, and what are some safe experiments i can do with it ?

Edited October 15, 2009 by jordehwa

[dr.syntax]

Firstly I believe this is a repeat of an old thread if I'm not mistaken...hmm?

 

As for uric acid, yes it can be found in urine, but in what purity? A wretched one, which would make it absolutely useless.

 

I recommend that you start by buying one strong mineral acid (usually hydrochloric or sulfuric) and working your way up from there, as these can then further be used to make tons of organic, carboxylic acids, from their respective salts, when required and so forth. You can also then later, once you have enough technical, and theoretical experience, work with some even nastier (though useful) stuff like hydroiodic or nitric acid. You can easily buy hydrochloric acid at most hardware stores as "muriatic acid," and similarly, I believe I've heard sulfuric can be bought as "car- battery acid," though I've never done so myself. Happy experimenting.

 

ps:I presume you know the risks associated with these stronger acids, if you don't, or are unsure, just consult MSDS (material safety data sheets; just type it in on google and you'll find your relevant querry)

 

pps: and regarding horza's method, I know potassium permanganate (another strong oxidisers) to my own alarm, I found out very recently that it is sold quite commonly in certain pharmacies. Addition of potassium permanganate to alcohols wil yield the corresponding carboxylic acid, and the reaction runs to completion. In contrast, I find chromate would yield primarily an aldehyde product, unless you use excess oxidiser and heat it rather nicely, as it is a much weaker oxidiser. I believe dichromate would be more efficient in this respect. Chromates also happen to be carcinogenic, which... well... isn't quite fun.

 

 

REPLY: The question was: what is the easiest acid to make ? period, there were no qualifiers refered to in that question as to purity or usefulness. None whatsoever. So,for that reason I still say: uric acid is the easiest to make, all you have to do is pee and uric acid is a component of that urine or pee, and stand by it.Unless and until someone comes up with an easier way of making an acid I consider my answer to be the best of all the answers suggested by the other posters including you. ...Dr.Syntax

Edited October 16, 2009 by dr.syntax

[mooeypoo]

Peeing doesn't CREATE acid, peeing makes use of existing acid. The lovely realm of semantics.

 

Now please carry on, guys.. the acid in the pee comment was helpful in the sense that it's not something people know, so you learned something new.

 

Instead of bickering about what the OP meant, let's just continue the discussion civilly. Whose answer is the best is irrelevant; they are all helpful, and the discussion continues on.

 

~moo

[Theophrastus]

Hey, John, out of interest, would there be any way to extract the lactic acid, to get (regardless of crudeness) a relatively useable product?

 

I think a while ago, YT, did something like this, extracting relatively pure (around 70% oleic acid) from olive oil by placing a jar of olive oil in the fridge overnight, then removing the insoluble mass present at the top. This is the very crude product. Then, adding sodium hydroxide, filtering off impurities, then adding hydrochloric acid finally leaves one with a somewhat usable oleic acid product. (Either way, the main impurities, are other aliphatic carboxylic acids like palmitic, stearic, and myristic acids)

[UC]

Thanks guys.

 

I was wondering how dangerus is a 30% solution of hydrochloric acid, and what are some safe experiments i can do with it ?

 

Safe is a relative term. 30% HCl fumes, and the fumes will rust anything made of steel in the same room as it. The containers they sell it in (hardware store muriatic acid) *do not* contain the fumes properly. It can cause pretty nasty acid burns if you get it on yourself, damage stainless steel, aluminum, steel, copper, brass, etc, and will choke you pretty nicely if you catch a good whiff of the vapors.

 

Unless you have goggles, gloves, and good ventilation, don't use it. Some proper labware is in order. Pipettes, beakers, and glass stirring rods. You can't just slosh it around like vinegar.

 

You need to store it properly, and glass bottles with teflon lined caps are a good choice, as it will damage some plastics. Something like this is ideal: http://cgi.ebay.com/Lab-Glass-Amber-Solution-Bottles-1-liter_W0QQitemZ140351540198QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item20ad9a8be6

 

It becomes moderately safer if you dilute it with 2 parts water, so that the fuming is minimalized, but is still not to be taken lightly.

[jordehwa]

ok then can i buy a more dilute solution of it or should i get sulfuric acid instead