insutama
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Storing acids
I am about to purchase 3 type of acids hydrochloric acid , nitric acid, and sulphuric acid. Would i be okay to store these 3 acids together in the
same Rubbermaid bin ?
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gdflp
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Typically yes, but that depends. How much of each acid did you purchase, what concentrations are they, and what type of bottles are they in? Placing
some weak base on the bottom of the container, NaHCO3 Na2CO3, CaCO3 would all work, will help to
neutralize the fumes produced by the nitric acid and hydrochloric acid.
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Molecular Manipulations
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The most important thing about storing acids is the container that holds them. Since you're buying them they should be in a good enough vessel, but
not always. Elemental Scientific's sulfuric acid comes in a container than it eats after 6-12 months. The acids wont contaminate each other though,
hydrochloric acid tends to escape easily, a little Teflon tape helps a lot though. Sulfuric acid is not volatile and wont escape any contain it
doesn't burn through. Nitric is best stored in a glass container with a Teflon lid, it is volatile and can escape it's container, but the fumes are
less corrosive to iron, so it wont rust metal like HCl does.
Here's the best thing you could do, put them in your Rubbermaid bin, with a cup of sodium bicarbonate solution in it. Any acidic fumes will be
neutralized.
[Edited on 2-4-2015 by Molecular Manipulations]
-The manipulator
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Bert
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Do not store the acids in an area with steel/Iron tools, guns, other items you don't want to get rusty... Particularly the hydrochloric acid. Tiny
amounts of acid vapors continually escape, even from unopened containers of some types. Best store in a well ventilated, non inhabited area-
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brubei
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Do not store them with strong base or overreaction will occurs in case of accident
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insutama
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okay sounds like good info the percentage is 70% nitric 98% sulphuric and hydrochloric 38%
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insutama
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How about outside in my backyard shed in a rubbermaid bin with NaHCO3 ?
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Texium
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That should be fine, but still keep anything metal on the other side of the shed. You can place some steel nails or other metal items you don't care
about around the bin to test and see if they will rust if you want.
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insutama
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okay great thanks for the advice guys what about heat in the summer and cold in the winter ?
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gdflp
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Shouldn't be a big deal. The hydrochloric acid might fume a little more in harsh heat since the 38% is really close to saturation, but the others
will be fine. In the winter the nitric acid and hydrochloric acid won't freeze, but depending on how close to 98% the sulfuric truly is, it might
freeze. Warming it up slightly will melt it again.
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woelen
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I would add a small amount of distilled water (appr. 30 ml to 1 liter of acid) to the hydrochloric acid, otherwise you will have LOTs of trouble
keeping the corrosive fumes away from the surroundings. There is a lot of difference in fuming intensity between 35% acid and 38% acid, while for
chemical experiments, the difference hardly is noticed. Even 35% acid fumes quite a lot, but 38% acid will be a pain in the ass to have around.
The other two acids are fine, provided they are kept in glass bottles with suitable cap. The 38% HCl will get pressurized quite strongly in summer,
that's another reason to add some water to this to make it a little bit less concentrated.
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Molecular Manipulations
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That's a good idea, I've used 37% and it fumes like crazy in the summer, 38% is undoubtedly much worse.
As for sulfuric acid freezing, that wont be a problem, as it contracts when cooling (unlike water), so it wont crack the container if it's glass.
-The manipulator
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insutama
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so my best bet is storing the acids away from all my other chemicals outside in the shed in the back yard ? i was also thinking of storing it in a
rubbermaid bin with baking soda poured all over the bottom of rubbermaid bin but inside my house in a spare bed room closet. Would the acids be able
to leak from the rubbermaid bin even with lids on the bottles ? i decided not to get HCL so its just the nitric and sulphuric i have to worry about
storing. If its alot safe to store out of the house i will just do the shed plan but if it wont damage anythiing storing it inside in a closet thats
hardly ever used inside of a rubbermaid bin it would be alot more convenient for when i need it.
once again i cant thank you all enough for the great advice
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woelen
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If you have just nitric acid and sulphuric acid, then you can keep them inside in a sealed plastic bin, which also has some NaHCO3 inside (I would put
that on a small dish, so that you do not have white poweder sticking to the bottom of all bottles).
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DrMario
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Just a little nit-pick: common washing soda (Na2CO3) is cheaper than sodium bicarbonate, and works excellently for neutralisation. Sometimes it's used
in labs for storing larger amounts of fuming nitric acid.
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insutama
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oh awsome good to know thanks 
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MrHomeScientist
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I'd recommend buying safety-coated bottles for all your acids, like these: http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/z190047?...
Of course buying from Sigma isn't usually possible, but there are other sources. It was just one of the first hits when I searched. Being coated in
plastic reduces risk of breakage if you drop the bottle. They are what I use for my acids. I also store all of my acids together in a large Rubbermaid
tub with lots of baking soda on the bottom, just like you wanted to do. Works great and I can't detect any fumes outside the tub, even with hardware
store muriatic acid in it as well.
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diddi
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I worked in chemical distribution many years ago and completed the appropriate transport regulatory quals. it is a fundamental rule of transport that
one never ships acids with oxidants. so a customer who orders those 3 acids would receive 2 boxes, the nitric being isolated. if a single carton
containing all 3 was damaged (eg forklift strike or fall from height) the resulting mess would be an OHS catastrophe.
still today I store my chems in designated areas
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insutama
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Perfect
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