[zc182]

Hello all.  I am producing silver nitrate and am attempting to find an analytical lab to produce a certificate of analysis for me.  Of all the ones I contacted, none of them seem to have access to the ACS Reagent Procedures and Specifications book.  They are willing to quote me on the work, however I need to supply them with the information regarding the P&S.  Does anyone have this information?  And if so, would you be willing to share it with me?  If you do, I would be happy to pay for it.  I believe that my end product will meet the purity ratings, as my procedures are well planned and the chems I use are ACS grade including silver shot that has been re-purified using electrolysis.  Thanks for any help in this matter.

[Arkcon]

Since you want ACS certification of your product, why not actually ask the ACS?  Or actually purchase the ACS Reagent Procedures and Specifications book?  I think you may have to.  Its not enough just to meet a specification you've "heard from somewhere."   You will probably have to have certified proof that you are following current procedures.

[zc182]

I hear ya. The procedures I am referring to are my synthesis procedures. The reason I don't want to purchase the book is that I don't want to drop the $300 on it just so I can share it with an analytic lab (that should have it anyway?) and then need to pay them to work the procedures and write up the cert. I guess some tests I can do myself like precipitating chlorides and checking for clarity etc. Honestly I was hoping someone here had the book and might just let me in on the info.

[Arkcon]

Did you try using Google?

For example, in pharmaceutical production, our standards are called the USP: US Pharmacopoeia.  There are others, JP, EP, RP and nations are working to harmonize them.  If I use Google, I can find a copy of the older version of the USP.   There are only slight changes from year to year.  But no one will buy pharmaceuticals manufactured by someone who isn't using the current version.  The fact that I can find an older version, or heard about it from someone else, really doesn't say anything.

ACS silver nitrate is sold by Sigma Aldrich at >99.0% purity:

grade      ACS reagent
vapor density      5.8 (vs air)
assay      ≥99.0%
form      solid
clarity of soln      passes test
impurities      Free acid, passes test
     ≤0.01% not HCl pptd.
mp      212 °C (dec.)(lit.)
anion traces      chloride (Cl-): ≤5 ppm
     sulfate (SO42-): ≤0.002%
cation traces      Cu: ≤2 ppm
     Fe: ≤2 ppm
     Pb: ≤0.001%

If your non-accredited lab tests your product, and find that its 99.9999% pure, with say, 0.02 ppm Cu, that is likewise meaningless, even though the numbers "seem" better.  No one will pay the same price for yours, and if they claim their process uses ACS grade reagents, they'd be lying if they used yours.  No one will take this chance.