Nitric Acid

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Let us learn about "Nitric Acid"

Nitric acid is a very important chemical: it is used to make explosives, plastics and medicinal drugs. It is mainly used in the production of fertilizers that can be used to help plants grow. Nitric acid is usually prepared by heating potassium nitrate with concentrated sulphuric acid. This heating is done in a glass retort and vapors of nitric acid are condensed in a receiver, which is cooled by water.

In industry you make nitric acid by carrying out two chemical reactions, the first reaction produces nitrogen monoxide

1. First of all ammonia reacts with oxygen in the air

2. The ammonia and oxygen pass over a hot catalyst made of platinum

3. This first reaction produces hot nitrogen monoxide

The second chemical reaction uses the nitrogen monoxide to produce nitric acid:

4. The nitrogen monoxide is cooled down

5. As it cools it reacts with oxygen in the air to make nitrogen dioxide

6. The nitrogen dioxide then reacts with water and more oxygen to make nitric acid

Nitric acid is a molecule that is made out of five atoms: three atoms of oxygen; one atom of nitrogen; and one atom of hydrogen.

The chemical equation for nitric acid is: HNO₃

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