ssdd - 5-6-2007 at 14:41
Ok the other day I was doing some work with glacial acetic acid. The reaction I did with it ran fine, but I am more curious about what happened when I
rinsed the equipment.
Now when I first opened the glacial I expected a very strong Vinegar smell, but this was not so... In fact I don't recall smelling anything. Now when
I took the flask with some waste acid in it to the sink and rinsed it. Soon as it was diluted the area filled with a strong smell of vinegar.
Why did it only have an odor when it was diluted, was there a reactionwith the water that makes a compound with this smell?
ssdd
Pyridinium - 5-6-2007 at 18:54
More likely, you disturbed the surface of the acetic acid and caused more of it to go into the air, hence the smell. That's all I can think of at the
moment.
Normally a bottle of glacial acetic smells like vinegar hell when you open the cap.
garage chemist - 5-6-2007 at 21:51
Hah, you just didnt get any of the fumes from the GAA into your nose... try wafting the bottle when you open it next.
I find GAA is even more irritating to the nose than acetic anhydride, also, GAA stings the nose and airways immediately while the action of acetic
anhydride is somewhat delayed and not as strong.