Nitric acid
Nitric acid is a chemical compound with the formula HNO3. It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen.
Nitric acid is the primary reagent used for nitration – the addition of a nitro group, typically to an organic molecule. While some resulting nitro compounds are shock- and thermally-sensitive explosives, a few are stable enough to be used in munitions and demolition, while others are still more stable and used as pigments in inks and dyes. Nitric acid is also commonly used as a strong oxidizing agent.
Production
There are several methods of producing Nitric acid using commonly available, natural materials. One incredibly easy method uses sulfuric acid and bat guano. By dissolving the bat guano in water and removing all solids, Calcium and Potassium Nitrate can be extracted, and then removed by boiling off all of the water. The Calcium and Potassium Nitrate can then be turned into Nitric acid using Sulfuric acid, to yeild fuming nitric acid.
However in some cases the sulfuric acid is produced using the nitric acid itself as a reactive. one way to avoid this problem is compress the air into a sealed tank wich contains copper-dopped zeolite and keep heating the content from 700 to 990 degrees celsius; taking advantages of the composition of the air wich is almost 99.99% pure reactives needed to make this process (Nitrogen and Oxygen). in this process it form some Nitrogen Oxides, wich then later can be sent to a container with water, to produce the nitric acid.
Another method uses urine, however it takes much longer to work. Start by digging out a small nitre bed, which over the course of the next several months to years, you consistantly pour urine over. Nitrifying bacteria in the ground will slowly start to convert the amines and urea in urine into ammonia, then to nirtites, and eventually nitrates. Potash, or potassium carbonate, is then poured over the nitre bed to convert the nitrates into Potassium Nitrate, which is acidified again using Sulfuric Acid to form Fuming Nitric Acid.
One last method involves taking urine, and extracting ammonia from it which is then, in the presence of a Platinum Catalyst and at 800-900 C under 3-4 atm of pressure, is oxidized to NO gas, which can be bubbled into water to produce Nitric Acid. This weak Nitric Acid solution can be mixed again with potash to form Potassium Nitrate, which can be acidified again using Sulfuric Acid to form Fuming Nitric Acid.
Dependencies
See also
References
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