EU: \*sees one of the most versatile chemicals\* Ah, let's ban that, because it can be used for _some_ bad things \*completely ignores all other, commonly available chemicals that are better at doing bad things, like HCl for explosives, or bases for flesh decomposition\*
great informative video. in my country we can buy 12% sulfuric acid meant to refill car batteries, its way easier because you dont need to worry about any impurities... I made concentrated sulfuric acid from it in the past, I will make a video when I get some free time
Same, most of the tutorials always talk about drain cleaners that are sulfuric acid based which straight up don't exist where I live. Battery acid though is universal.
@Amateur Chemistry You can also get sulfuric acid by electrolysing an aqueous copper(II) sulfate with a copper cathode and an inert anode like lead dioxide, carbon, platinum, etc... And also don´t use any metal or alloy that reacts with sulfuric acid to collect it like that steel pot! Use something made of glass, for example, instead.
I did that recently and now have a really cool looking copper plating jar - I put a couple of vertical strips of copper tape up the inside sides and a loop running around the middle to connect them. Now the cathode from the acid run is a chunky anode for plating.
@@nobody4248that has been the way for hundreds of years. Dry distillation of sulfates at 600+°C and bubbling of decomposition products (sulfur dioxide and trioxide) into water to get sulfuric acid. That's why sulfuric acid was called oil of vitriol, where vitriol ("small glass" in latin) meant sulfates.
@@Amateur.Chemistry I have a method of making it from calcium sulfate. First react CaSO4 with NH4HCO3 to make CaCO3 and (NH4)2SO4. Then heat the ammonium sulfate to make ammonia and ammonium bisulfate. Then dissolve the ammonium bisulfate in water to saturation and electrolyse it with two flower pots. In the anodic flower pot start with just deionised water - here’s where sulfuric acid will collect. In the cathodic flower pot start with a saturated solution of ammonium bisulfate - here’s where ammonium acid sulfate will turn back to ammonium sulfate and half the sulfate ions will migrate to the anode. Between them use a bath of dilute ammonium bisulfate. The sulfuric acid obtained via this method can be distilled with a bit of ozonised air to destroy even the trace ammonium impurities (if there are any) and then get refluxed post distillation.
The EU laws prohibiting access to chemicals are ridiculous and put hobbyist chemists under general suspicion. I'd go as far as to argue that they violate the EU human rights charta, since the negative implications of these measures are way out of proportion to their capability of "reducing crime and terrorism". Many folks born between the 60s and mid-80s got into chemistry and science by experimenting in their sheds - this is now ciminalized and creates a massive lost opportunity in getting future generations engaged into the matter :( Brussels would even prohibit baking soda and vinegar if it could.
Well, if you chug down cup full of vinegar and baking soda, the resulting fart could endanger the public. I bet you didn't take that possibility into account.
I got pressed charges against me fir exactly that. Had to give up my amateur chemistry hobby and my 10k euro lab. Plus I am in danger of facing jailtime. Greetings from the eco-Socialist country Germany 😢
Instead of stopping the invasion of criminals and terrorists from third world S-holes that should never be allowed to enter Europe the communist fascists from the EU prefer to ban everything for the law abiding European natives
While more time consuming, it would in theory be cheaper to distill pool pH lowering liquid. It's 14,9% and can be bought for around 40€ per 20kg canister. Starting with the 37% battery acid is easier, but you pay more money for less concentrated acid since batteries aren't especially cheap.
And the batteries need to be in working order. Otherwise they consumed the acid inside. So... buying a battery for the little acid inside is just dumb.
A pyncnometer (a little flask with a capillary sticking out) is like $10 on Amazon and is a crazy precise way of measuring sulfuric acid density! Much better than grad cylinders.
If you get one for ten dollars it will probably be a cheaply manufactured one with less accuracy. If you really need that precise density measurements I would recommend investing more and going for a name brand one.
Just boil the acid until white fumes come off. Then you are at almost 100%. Measuring with any of those methods does not give you any more information.
@@OmniversalInsectyes, it prevents it from being 100%, because the sulfuric acid decomposes into SO3 and water when heated/boiled. To reach 100% I think some free sulfur trioxide would have to be added, but that would be closer to oleum (sulfuric acid with ~ 20-60% free SO3)
I remember the army manual where this procedure was described. with the help of two glass bottles ,some tape and fireplace. white vapors should appear at the right temperature, different shades of black at the wrong temperature. 😂the description warned that it should be done by a person who is patient. Great video as always ❤
@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252well, if you are in the middle of the desert I guess you could do it even like that with reasonable safety, just keep a distance until the process ends/the apparatus explodes.
Not sure about you guys over in the EU, but in the US you can get usually get battery electrolyte from auto repair stores for way cheaper than buying a battery, Mine was 25$ for 5gal (19L, 24Kg). It's super pure so you don't have to deal with lead. The only down side is it's only 30-32%. Pretty good stuff if you need something more pure than the drain cleaner.
Be careful not to damage the cell dividers when opening the battery. Save them, they are great for use as low-resistance diaphragm in electrolysis experiments that require a divided cell.
10:10 high concentration and hot ZnCl2 in water and / or HCl (around 60% zinc by weight iirc) also "dissolves" cellulose (all I can obtain is a VERY dark thing but I'm sure something useful can probably be made of it) I'm experimenting with it these days it's a fun chemical EDIT: I've just performed the experiment again: with fewer heat ZnCl2 (aq.) really dissolves cellulose at around 80C. I have no idea what this can be used for though obviously. ZnCl2 has an insane boiling point even in solution (like 300C at 50%), so it carbonises cellulose insanely well when hot - my gut feeling is that this very fine carbon mesh (mess?) is probably useful to something.
I remember buying 750ml of >94% to 98% H2SO4 drain cleaner at Leroy Merlin for 1.37€, back when I started experimenting things in late 2017. I had great times with my mates back then, and those motherfuckers of the EU ruined everything a couple years later. Thank you for the video :)
neither does Romania, we still have 35% electrolite available to buy (and some stores still sell drain cleaner with H2SO4 too). Thank God for bureaucracy. Oh, and I just bought a bottle of 32% HCl for metal pickling.
Great video!! I’m surprised how much acid was actually inside, I’ve topped distilled water up in batteries in the past so knew there was a bit inside, but not so much! 👌 great info! And knowing these is so much almost makes a 100$ battery somewhat worthwhile for the acid if u really needed it and couldn’t find something more suitable! 👊🍻😊
Lol, i can go down to the local mom and pop hardware store and buy a gallon of crystal clear 98% sulfuric acid for like $12. I use it at work for commercial/industrial drain cleaning, and storing it in a dark closet in it's gallon jug it stays clear for over a year, though it almost never lasts that long except during Covid.
I think this process is more for the EU folks who can’t buy decently concentrated H2SO4. Here in the US and Canada where I’m from we’re kinda spoiled with how easily 98% H2SO4 is.
You could just doul down the acid in some pots and when it is about 70-80% take iron pipes (water or hydraulic pipes screwed together) full them with the acid and destill it in a wood fire. You can additionally remove metal ions by electrilysis. (Graphite electrodes)
Why doesn't the "sand from the middle of nowhere Poland" introduce a whole bunch of contamination? Seems like using this would undo all the prior purification..
i just cracked open a battery, the pbo2 in mine was very brittle and fragile, i wasn't able to get an intact plate out, but honestly i wasn't trying, i was just after the lead plates, but i wasn't trying to break the pbo2 either, they just fell apart. i beleive that it would be possible to get them in tact if you're very careful, the biggest issue is the tissue paper like dividers between the plates, its stuck to them, i think dissolving it away would be your best bet
I feel sorry for chemists in breadline nations. The nearest hardware store to me sells concentrated sulfuric acid. I literally bought a gallon of it earlier today, and it cost about the same as the pack of romex staples that I bought with it.
Please don't use Teflon stir bars for this! You were heating the PTFE almost 100°C above its maximum safe temperature for quite a long time, which contaminated your distillate with various fluorine breakdown products.
Teflon depolymerizes above 650°C and melts at 327°C , so there probably wasn't too much decomposition happening, and even it it did its amount is negligible
Lead (II) sulfate has a melting point of 1087°C and it decomposes at higher temperatures without ever boiling, elemental lead boils at 1749°C. So no, any sensible contamination in the receiving flask at 337°C is highly unlikely and unsignificant, even though you should probably check vapor pressure data for extra safety.
@Alberto_Travagin Yesterday I bought drain cleaner and was shocked at how reactive it was. Looked at the ingredients: 98% sulfuric acid. Maybe it's illegal but you definitely find some. (France)
The sulfuric acid drain cleaner he uses in many of his videos is 98%, but after checking it says it actually isn't 98%... Maybe it's like 10% 98% acid??? But idk how that would make any sense. I've even seen the EU paper that bans it@@remiheneault8208
I got a ton years ago from an old photo lab. About 20%? Mine also turned yellowish after boiling it down. It also eats through some kinds of plastic.. be wary.
so you need a new battery for this? What is the point then? I thought we could reuse somehow the leftovers from the battery, but as I understand, H2SO4 is being used in the process, is it correct?
well all the acid will still be there in a dead battery, just in the form of lead sulphate crystals, i'm coming to this video after having already dissasembled a dead battery, and now i'm in the process of trying to figure out how to turn my lead sulphate back into sulfuric acid, but i'm sure it can be done
Sulphuric acid is never distilled or produced in that purify or concentration because of the Azeotrope that Sulphuric acid forms with Water in the air. It most concentrated for is rarely ever Anhydrous or above 96-98% concentration. So claiming 99% points towards potential issues regarding the understanding of the Organic Chemistry involved, and the resulting product
Yeah, i buy crystal clear 98% by the gallon super cheap at my local small town rural mom and pop hardware store. Even after a year or more of storage it stays crystal clear. Some drain cleaners with surfactants and additives go all brown with byproduct.
I dont that would be a safe or even viable procedure due to the explosive nature of hydrogen. Much better is to just electrolyse CuSo4. A copper negative electrode, graphite positive and you get H2SO4 in solution, copper metal at the negative electrode and oxygen on the positive. Though take my advice with a grain of salt, i have done this reaction only once and have not measured the resulting purity. It did crystalize a lot of copper on the negative electrode though so i do believe the reaction went through.
Thanks! The purified sand by having a ton of very rough surface area allows the sulfuric acid to boil as many small bubbles instead of big bursts which makes this thing a whole lot safer.
Yes, in my experience glass pieces do not work well, even when the surface is sanded rough. Pieces of ceramics work very well, but not necessarily with H2SO4. @@Amateur.Chemistry
not really. I doubt chelation would work in a H2SO4 solution. It is annoying, because there are some situations when the led contamination would be an issue (like making hydrazine and hydroxilamine).
If you remove the lead plates and melt them, pretty please make a video of it? I love melted metal!🤤 Even if you don't melt them, I'll watch that too! Lol
I will definitely do that, I have some interesting things planned for the lead, but I will start somewhere near summer because I have to go to my second lab where my furnaces are. Also expect some videos with different molten metals in the future :)
~13.8v is considered a normal voltage for a fully charged 12v lead acid battery but it does vary a little. Less than 13v is not usually considered fully charged though.
All the batteries are voltage rated at certain current. If you measure a car battery with a voltmeter without any electrical load it can show much more than 12 V and if the load is higher than the standard one the battery delivers less than 12 V. You can even check new '1.5 V' batteries, if you don't draw any current they have 1.6 V or more.
Yeah hot sulfiric acid is a nasty stuff. During my apprenticeship (at Bayer) i also worked at the part of the company were they made Oleum. I can only say that very hot Oleum is even more nasty stuff. Fumes like hell when coming in contact with air (when we for example hat to change a pump. . .) And all my work trousers had holes after a few weeks (because everywhere was the stuff that is used to make the sulfiric acid (and after the process there is something left over that is called "abbrand" in german). If this stuff comes in contact with water you get low concentrated H₂SO₃ which loves to eat holes in your trousers 🤣. I only hated one more thing there. The lovely smell that was arround you all the time🤮
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Sulfuric acid, including diluted battery acid, is banned in the EU. Only workshops are allowed to have battery acid here. For example, if someone has a bottle of battery acid from the old days in the garage and gets caught with it, it's their turn...
Usually 80-95% and it contains additional corrosion inhibitors and detergents. You gotta add a tiny amount of H2O2 and then heat it until it gives off white fumes and becomes clear.
My local mom and pop rural hardware store sells 98% for super cheap, it's crystal clear and stays clear after over a year of storage. Most brands have surfactants and stuff, but this is just a gallon of 98% acid in a plain white generic bottle.
Not exactly. With muriatic acid it’s a different story because hydrogen chloride (the stuff that makes it an acid) is a gas. I plan to show how to concentrate it in a future video
@@Amateur.Chemistry It's quite simple: generating the gas from heating sodium bisulfate with table salt and inserting it into a 24 % hydrochloric acid from the hardwarestore by using an inverted funnel trap until its density doesn't increase anymore at about 37 % and 1.19 g/ml.
@@chanheosican6636Not here, 23% at most in the hardware store. It's clear and leaves no residu on distillation, so I assume they just bottled the azeotrope. In the past I've seen brands that sold yellowish colored muriatic acid, suspect it is because of dissolved iron ions.
If you get a drop of hot sulfuric acid on your skin not much happens even at high concentration because typically you'll go and rinse it off right away. Not much different than a regular burn after that.
@@triple_gem_shining “And btw…” not my point. I’m not questioning his work or the validity of what you’ve stated. He could have said something like “the purest attainable” and been more accurate with his title on the video. So I’m bored, what else is new. 😂
I wrote it like that in the title so it is easy to quickly read, and I know that it can be a bit misguiding but what I wanted to convey is that I made sulfuric acid without any contaminants with the concnetration of 98% in water which I don't count as a contaminant
The only conclusion is rather simple. To extract the diluted sulfuric acid by evaporating the water content by boiling at 100C and get 98% sulfuric acid. The video was very long for this content
does not work like that, you need way over 100 Celsius, due to the high stregth of the bond between H2SO4 and H2O molecules. Even at 300 Celsius, the acid is not 98%, only when it reaches the boiling point of the azeotrope will it be 98% (actually, 98.3%).
You bought this battery for fuckin 200zł and then destroyed it lol You could just buy car battery electrolyte here in Poland (i bought 5l for 60zł) Also I distilled h2so4 when I was 14 so it's not a big deal
I know that, but I did that just to show people that it can be done. Also distilling sulfuric acid is a big deal, its incredibly dangerous and can seriously hurt you if you are not careful
