Easy Way To Make Hydrochloric Acid - Chemistry - Science Forums

This a tutorial on how to make HCI by mixing salt and vinegar. I found this as a thing to make shiny pennies it uses 4 solutions number 4# is HCI. Note HCI is very dangerous and you don't want to drink it or get it on anything.

 

Science Concept: By mixing vinegar and salt to make hydrochloric acid, a strong acid, it will dissolve away the corrosion compound on pennies.

 

Materials:

 

four 250 mL beakers

1 tablespoon (2 g) sodium chloride (salt)

cup (120 mL) vinegar

cup (120 mL) distilled water

cup (60 mL) detergent

several dirty pennies

 

Procedure:

Label the 4 beakers 1, 2, 3, 4.

In beaker 1, mix 60 mL of detergent with 60 mL of water.

In beaker 2, put 60 mL of vinegar.

In beaker 3, mix 1 g of salt and 60 mL of water.

And in beaker 4, mix 60 mL of vinegar with 1 g of salt.

Place several pennies in beaker 1, then into beaker 2, and then into beaker 3, showing that the pennies remain dirty. Then place the pennies in beaker 4 and stir. It may take a few seconds, but the pennies should come out shiny.

 

Introduction: Have you ever seen very dark and dirty pennies? I have and I always wondered how I could get them clean. I tried many different solutions and one of these works great. Which one? (Explain what is in each beaker.)

 

Explanation: If the pennies were just physically coated with "dirt", they would wash off with detergent as in beaker # 1. The "dirt" on the pennies is a chemical of copper oxide and can not simply be washed off with soap and water, as shown by placing the pennies in beaker #1. Vinegar alone is a weak acid so it won't work, as shown by beaker #2. Salt water also does not work, as shown in beaker #3. To clean the pennies, you need a strong acid, such as hydrochloric acid. In beaker # 4, when you mix the vinegar and salt, you make hydrochloric acid. This dissolves the copper compound. When salt is added to the vinegar, it is able to clean the pennies.

 

Equation:

 

HC2H3O2 + NaCl ---> HCl + NaCH3O2

(vinegar) + (salt) ---> (hydrochloric acid) + (sodium acetate)

 

CuO + HCl ---> CuCl2 + H2O

copper(II) oxide + hydrochloric acid ---> copper(II) chloride

 

Safety Precautions: Be careful with the hydrochloric acid. Use tongs to remove

 

pennies from it.

 

Waste Disposal: Dump all liquids in the sink and rinse out beakers.

 

Reference: Original Reference Unknown

 

Rosenhein, Laurence D. The Household Chemistry of Cleaning Pennies J. Chem. Educ. 2001 78 513. (April 2001)