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Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 08:00
by Labbie
After a chat with some lovely labbies yesterday. The question was put forward, Nitric acid conc is class 8 / class 5 .
I am most interested in which class do you store your Nitric acid??

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 08:54
by Graham Kemp
You can store Nitric acid with Hydrochloric acid, but should keep it seperate from Sulfuric acid, and well away from Acetic Acid.

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 08:56
by Jazz
Do not store nitric acid near materials with which it might react. Because of its wide range of incompatible chemicals, if at all possible ( in my dreams only, have only 1 corrosive cabinet), store nitric acid in its own storage cabinet near floor level. If a dedicated storage cabinet is not available, store nitric acid with inorganic acids, segregated from the other acids in secondary container (a plastic dish tub or bucket works very well). I add bicarbonate soda on the bottom of the plastic container.
Does react violently with;
Combustibles: e.g. glacial acetic acid, diesel fuel
Flammables (including flammable organic solvents): e.g. acetone, ether, and toluene
Bases: e.g. ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide
Reducing A gents: e.g. metal hydrides, ammonia, and phosphorus
Metals: e.g. lead, zinc (galvanized steel), aluminum
Metal Compounds (as an etchant): e.g. steel, metal alloys

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 09:28
by Labbie
I knew it was not happy with Sulfuric acid, so I put ours in the Oxdising cupboard.
Could it go into a small corrosive cupboard, with only Iodine solution on the top shelve?????????????

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 09:59
by Jazz
Are you sure? Look at SDS sheet or bottle, Nitric acid has D.G class 8 (corrosive), and secondary is 5 (oxidising). Most of us has Glacial Acidic acid which is stored in flammable cabinet anyway, Incompatibility with sulfuric acid is not that bad. Physical separation, to shelf bottom shelf, should be sufficient.

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 10:09
by Graham Kemp
Labbie wrote:I knew it was not happy with Sulfuric acid, so I put ours in the Oxdising cupboard.
The chromates and peroxides won't like that. They don't make good neighbours.
Labbie wrote:Could it go into a small corrosive cupboard, with only Iodine solution on the top shelve?????????????
Well, okay, if it's well ventilated.

I2(aq) + 10 HNO3(aq) → 2 HIO3(aq) + 10 NO2(g) + 4 H2O(l)

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 10:44
by dime
to Jazz..I've got written down in my storage of chemical don'ts: Alcohols not near Glacial Acetic Acid. So I have my Acetic acid on a separate shelf in my acid bay.

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 10:54
by Jazz
it is about nitric acid and (glacial) acidic acid. they need to be separated all others should be ok, unless you are lucky enough to have few corrosive cabinets. I think moving nitric acid from corrosive cabinet to oxidising cabinet is mistake.

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 12:08
by Labbie
Jazz thank you, I'll have to think of some where else, Corrosive cupboard not well ventilated.

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 13:35
by noona
I store mine on the floor in a plastic tub all by it's little lonsome :-(

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 13:37
by Labbie
Good idea Noona, I could put mine in the chemstore, all on its lonsome too.

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Sep 2013, 15:07
by fibreweb
Mine is also on the floor in the chemicals store room in a bucket, he is however accompanied by younger brother Nitric Acid 4M and baby brother Nitric Acid 1M.
It is not used much at all we have had the same bottle for the 14 years I have been here.
I do not have a corrosive cabinet

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 12 Sep 2013, 15:49
by linotas
Mines in a plastic tub in a "box" shelf below the HCL (which has its own plastic tray) It is separated from the glacial acetic acid by a shelving thickness of wood (and of couorse the plastic drip trays) Is this sufficient???

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 13 Sep 2013, 11:46
by lada
Like Noona I stored mine in Hazchem store in plastic tub on the floor on its own

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 17 Sep 2013, 08:38
by sunray18
Like Noona, I have plastic tubs on the floor holding the orphans of chemistry

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 08 Oct 2013, 14:32
by mtg
I store it in acid cupboard on a separate shelf to sulphuric, I have never heard of incompatabilities between the two. Just checked the MSDS for acetic acid and sure enough it says class 8 and the class 3. I have it in the fire cupboard.

Storage of Acids

Posted: 11 Aug 2014, 10:27
by rae
Hi All,

I need some advice. Recently we spent a considerable amount of money refurbishing our chem store. We purchased a corrosive cupboard and I have store Solid corrosives as well as acid solutions and concentrated acids. The cabinet has now got significant corrosion in the hinges and shelves.

I have been doing some reading and wondered what acids others store together. I removed the nitric acid as I have acetic acid in the cupboard but I am now wondering if I should remove the acetic and put the nitric back in.

"Acetic acid is an organic acid and should be stored separately from mineral acids. Since it is also flammable, it is best stored with other flammable liquids." from Princeton uni site.
HELP!!

Re: Storage of Acids

Posted: 11 Aug 2014, 10:36
by MariaC
Hi I store acetic acid in the flammable cupboard, and nitric with the other acids in the corosives :)

Re: Storage of Acids

Posted: 11 Aug 2014, 11:24
by Labbie
WE store our Nitric acid in the Oxidising solutions, I can not remember which HCL or Sulfruic they are NOT friends with. We have asked that this be put in CSIS as it is being updated.

Re: Nitric acid where do you store it?

Posted: 11 Aug 2014, 11:56
by dime
Acetic acid doesn't seem to be very friendly at all. You can't store it near alcohols, nor near Nitric acid. As our acids are on shelves in an open acid bay, I have got acetic acid on a separate shelf to the Nitric acid. The flammables (alcohols) are in a cupboard so the fumes congregate a bit, so I figured the Acetic acid would be better on open shelves, where it is venetilated a bit better.