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Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: Fractasm on August 18, 2014, 11:17:08 AM

Title: Disposal of Muriatic acid
Post by: Fractasm on August 18, 2014, 11:17:08 AM: Hi everyone. I plan to use some muriatic acid to strip the deposits from sea shells and geodes. also I was going to try some acid etching in combination with hydrogen peroxide on copper jewelry. my question is what do I do with the excess muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide/muriatic when I'm done with it? ive read that you can neutralize the Muriatic with baking soda but then what do I do with that? of course I don't want to throw it in the trash or down the drain. thanks for any feedback.
Title: Re: Disposal of Muriatic acid
Post by: kriggy on August 18, 2014, 11:28:12 AM: If you neutralize HCl with baking soda you are left with solution of NaCl in water:
NaHCO₃ + HCl → NaCl + H₂CO₃
H₂CO₃ → H₂O + CO₂(g)

so you can throw it down the drain. Be careful however, neutralization is exothermic and CO₂ is evolved so add the soda slowly and use protective equipment.
Title: Re: Disposal of Muriatic acid
Post by: Fractasm on August 18, 2014, 11:39:30 AM: what an awesome answer. I feel smarter just reading it. thanks so much. and I assume that I would just neutralize the muriatic/hydrogen peroxide mix the same way?
Title: Re: Disposal of Muriatic acid
Post by: Babcock_Hall on November 10, 2021, 08:50:36 AM: Dilute and then neutralize it before pouring down the sink. When you dilute, pour the acid into water, not the other way around.