Make Sulfuric Acid by the Copper Chloride Process

Рет қаралды 151,635

6 жыл бұрын

In this video we make sulfuric acid by the copper chloride process.
The general idea is simple: Take a solution of copper (II) chloride and bubble sulfur dioxide into it until most of the copper (II) chloride is converted into copper (I) chloride. This reaction also converts the sulfur dioxide into sulfuric acid and produces hydrochloric acid. Now the copper chloride can be regenerated by bubbling air into the mixture until the copper chloride dissolves again. This cycle can be repeated. When you want to isolate the sulfuric acid you forgo air infusion for that step and filter off the preciptated copper chloride. Then you distill off the hydrochloric acid and water from the filtrate. The sulfuric acid left behind will precpitate out most of the remainig copper salts and when filtered will give you relatively pure sulfuric acid with some water and minor copper contamination. The copper chloride can be recombined with all the hydrochloric acid from before and the cycle repeated.
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Пікірлер: 278

@theCodyReeder 6 жыл бұрын

Awesome! This seems easier than the nitric process I've been looking at.

@delta2257 5 жыл бұрын

Hello Cody!

@-c2784 3 жыл бұрын

2 years later

@SomeRandomPiggo 3 жыл бұрын

hi cody!

@MrBradshawbenjamin Жыл бұрын

@@-c2784 And then two more

@NurdRage 6 жыл бұрын

Digging up old video clips from 2009 makes me feel old. It's been 8 years since i did those experiments. The video doesn't hold up well in terms of quality. Maybe i should redo some of them with more modern equipment.

@2450logan 6 жыл бұрын

NurdRage they're still of high quality with the voice overs and the overall education we gain from these videos though. Old or new keep the videos pumping my fellow chemist

@MuzikBike 6 жыл бұрын

2009? I was still a sane and respectable person when you recorded those clips

@mizana1875 6 жыл бұрын

Maybe you could add oxidation catalysts into the reaction mixture, since the yield depends on the number of cycles and salts are recycled. Maybe a heterogeneous catalyst like palladium oxide? I'm wondering if that would even work.

@erilgaz 6 жыл бұрын

+NurdRage you said that excess hydrochloric acid complexes with the copper(I) chloride. Wouldn't the reaction kinetics better when the copper(I) ions are dissolved rather than in solid particle form?

@renehollan7695 6 жыл бұрын

I wonder if bubbling oxygen produced from the reaction of bleach and peroxide would speed up the oxidation step. Both available cheaply OTC.

@science_and_anonymous 6 жыл бұрын

who else loves NurdRage's honestly? truly one of the best parts of about him besides his amazing knowledge

@guythat779 Жыл бұрын

He's by far my favorite technical yt chemist Nilered cant hold a candle to him

@plasticraincoat1 6 жыл бұрын

Theres nothing wrong with good old fashioned chemistry. Looking back at my old videos makes me nostalgic! :) Keep them coming they are great.

@ytterbisciac6047 6 жыл бұрын

Man, I freakin' live for your videos. You inspired me to go to college for Biochemistry in the first place. Just wanted to let you know how awesome I think you are.

@annelieseocallaghan801 6 жыл бұрын

Eight years ago he launched my tinkering in chemistry to full blown home laboratory work. Congratulations on studying biochemistry, by the way!

@-Kerstin 6 жыл бұрын

NurdRages videos never ends up on my KZfaq startpage even though I watch and like everyone. Love these videos ^^

@FarragoTheFox 6 жыл бұрын

'let's get into wasting valuable hours of our lives' Sounds like you're itching for something more substantial after finishing your pyrimethamine.

@AlkisGD 6 жыл бұрын

Above all, it always sounds like Nurdrage survived a comicbook-style sulfur hexafluoride accident which left him forever acoustically deformed 😬

@wernerhiemer406 3 жыл бұрын

@@AlkisGD So I heard soul making shops before activating captions.

@Tokimime31 5 жыл бұрын

I love the "crushing your expectations" segment, especially the wasting time part, that made my day!

@ThePeterDislikeShow 4 жыл бұрын

Maybe the purpose of making the sulfuric acid is to make a weapon and thus you can't buy it and leave a paper trail. Life isn't all about just time and money!

@e_fission 6 жыл бұрын

Those are some very beautiful shades of green!

@ElectronPower 6 жыл бұрын

It may not be the best way of making sulfuric acid but it's still very interesting to watch. Someone might not be able to buy sulfuric acid and this could be the only way for them to obtain it, so it's still very useful video for someone. Thumbs up!

@ElectraFlarefire 6 жыл бұрын

In places like Australia you can't buy sulfuric acid without being a university/business(Chem supply places) or a licensed plumber(Drain cleaner). All the other ingredients you can get cheap and easily.

@ElectronPower 6 жыл бұрын

Electra Flarefire That's exactly what I'm talking about - they won't let home chemists buy things like H2SO4 because they're scared it will be used to make drugs or something like that, which is not usually the intention of home chemists but on the other hand alcohol and nicotine are legal despite being toxic - government wins and you lose, sorry. However, it's not game over yet - thanks to channels like NurdRage you can learn how to obtain sulfuric acid without actually buying it. And in the end home chemists win!

@victorianoble3374 6 жыл бұрын

Just curious. Can you buy battery acid in Australia or they require you to have some kind of license for it?

@ElectraFlarefire 6 жыл бұрын

You can buy it /in/ a battery. You buy a battery. They put the acid in it. Then you can take the battery out of the store. You can't get just the acid and you can't get the battery and acid as two parts.

@victorianoble3374 6 жыл бұрын

That's very unfortunate. It's the most viable source of sulfuric acid for hobbyists in ex USSR countries.

@xWood4000 6 жыл бұрын

I've been waiting for this since your tweet!

@martinofgliwice1486 6 жыл бұрын

I hypothesized the possibility of making sulfuric acid this way a long ago. Nice to see it was not an impossible method.

@Ambra2003313 6 жыл бұрын

it's good to know that you're still alive

@PowerThrough2011 6 жыл бұрын

Great job.

@generalingwer4341 Жыл бұрын

Awesome thanks for video!

@jasonclements4607 6 жыл бұрын

Love your videos. Thank you sir

@lightsterben4358 Жыл бұрын

Hi NurdRage, I am recently doing chemistry in the backyard for a little gold refining hobby. i found this video interesting and somewhat surprised. Precious metal refiners always produce Cucl2 as a waste especially in the country where nitric acid and sulfuric acid are not available. Anyways, thank you for sharing your knowledge! 👍

@sambishop3963 6 жыл бұрын

Lovely video as usual

@Webtroter 6 жыл бұрын

Woohoo! You're video showed up on my feed!

@kenough90 6 жыл бұрын

Alexis Vézina your

@dposse 6 жыл бұрын

Good news! Your video showed up in my feed!! :)

@TheDrakenZ 6 жыл бұрын

I love you man, thank you for the videos

@robinbutyl8176 6 жыл бұрын

Wow a nice video

@bhojveersingh5568 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much sir .

@TheGayestPersononYouTube 6 жыл бұрын

Is this the third time I'm watching? Yes! Am I a little nuts for doing so? Absolutely! Do I learn something new each time? Of course!

@leskuelbs9558 6 жыл бұрын

Great vid. I always appreciate info, never know when there will be a MacGyver opportunity.

@Crazykidtheknitter 5 ай бұрын

I am new to this channel but wow you make chemistry fun

@GNP3WP3W 4 жыл бұрын

Could one use ozone for the oxidation step? Ozone can be easily made with a UVC lamp, opaque tubing to insulate the UVC lamp, and a computer fan. UVC lamps are like $15 online

@brocktechnology 6 жыл бұрын

You mentioned it could be altered into a continuous process, with my particular blend of hobbies this makes me wonder if the process could not be automated? The very long reaction times are much less a concern, it seems to me, if the reaction can run unattended in a box behind the shed. Just a thought.

@thehystericalleprechaun3356 4 жыл бұрын

It's great to see so many people eager to "waste valuable hours of our life" in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Myself included. :D

@SuperAngelofglory 6 жыл бұрын

wonder if CuF2 works as neatly

@SafetyLucas 6 жыл бұрын

I'd like a video on synthesizing Meldrum's acid from mostly OTC precursors.

@dorzsboss 8 ай бұрын

Can it be done with ferric chloride too? That is also a strong oxidative agent and picks air up quite fast even without bubbleing it.

@warrentb1 6 жыл бұрын

Think you'll ever make a video about oleum?

@ralbiruni 6 жыл бұрын

Have you a way using the plaster electrolysis ?

@Robert-vp6xf 6 жыл бұрын

Hello NurdRage. I am having a hell of a time getting acids here in japan. Some things have cas numbers that I can use but most dont. I speak english. I have been waiting for a vaccum pump so I can try Chemplayers process of bubbling SO2 through hydrogen peroxide. I also need to concentrate my peroxide up to 30% which is a pain in its self. So I would appreciate more videos geared toward people like me who have huge limits on availability. They dont even sell sulfuric acid to clear drains here. There is only so much fun stuff one can do without acids. It has taken me a year to get the litmus paper beakers scales and I built a magnetic stirrer. I am dedicated but limited.

@Robert-vp6xf 6 жыл бұрын

Ive still yet to do the method by chemplayer. I am thinkig now about vanadium dioxide. To make oleum

@K0ester 2 жыл бұрын

Hows the last 3 years been? Still doing chrmistry? Have you figured out a way to synthesize acids or buy them

@ClownWhisper 4 жыл бұрын

I would be interested in bubbling 03 gas to see what if anything that improves

@doc_cotton 6 жыл бұрын

what about bubbling the air through a glass-sinter/glass-wool to increase the surface area of the bubbles? could this speed things up?

@acceptthetruthitwillsetyou2598 5 жыл бұрын

would oxygen directly bubbled in increase yields?

@siriusblack9999 6 жыл бұрын

would the addition of compounds that increase oxygen solubility (hemoglobin comes to mind, or maybe certain other chemicals would work as well, fulfilling a similar role) be useful for increasing the speed of the regeneration?

@jaysnk408 6 жыл бұрын

started a rewatch of Breaking Bad and NR vids are a perfect compliment

@jackmclane1826 2 жыл бұрын

I don't mind having long processes. I have limited time to spend on this as I might only find an evening per week. So I don't mind having air bubble through a 20l canister of CuCl for a week. And if you refine precious metals, you always have plenty of CuCl and CuNO3.

@user-ql9dt3vz1d 6 жыл бұрын

Hello, NurdRage, will it increase efficiency if you bubble air while bubbling SO2 in the slurry?

@ZoonCrypticon Жыл бұрын

Could you use the easy available iron-(II)-chloride instead ?

@jasonpatterson8091 6 жыл бұрын

I wonder if one of those little ozone producing air purifiers could be used to make ozone to bubble through the solution. They don't make much, but it seems like it should react more rapidly (assuming ozone would work in this process and that it doesn't just immediately convert dissolved SO2 into sulfuric acid.)

@Niko-rq7ie 6 жыл бұрын

Can you make video about synthesis of pinacyanol chloride?

@leavemealone1397 6 жыл бұрын

Nurdrage can you make a video about making ferrate salts from rust? Or explore the 'metalates' formed when transition metals are boiled with bleach?

@gooberhead777 6 жыл бұрын

Some of the combinations you come up with are not what one would see in a common Chemistry text book. Do you have any references for designing reactions? I've been through the thermodynamics classes and "get" the Gibbs free energy stuff but am usually at a loss for finding sufficient data to use those concepts.

@ferminenriquezamorapineda2832 6 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to use ozone and the sulphur dioxide in order to form sulphur trioxide and then making it reacting with water?

@kikol.5002 6 жыл бұрын

Yay new video

@mihailo15a 6 жыл бұрын

Will copper(II)-acetate work as well?

@deaultusername 5 жыл бұрын

How due you clean the frit in the filter?

@TheJokicar 6 жыл бұрын

3:43 new favorite word: homogenius Thanks NurdRage! Ps. Love your vids keep it up

@juanaz1860 6 жыл бұрын

Any big projects coming up?

@emmepombar3328 3 жыл бұрын

In the EU sulfuric acid above 15% will be forbidden next year. So yes, this video is very important for us here in the EU.

@louistournas120 2 жыл бұрын

15% is quite low but you could just distill it, which is simple and it is a single step. If you want to reach ~90%, then it is a power hungry process. I use a propane torch to do this.

@thepvporg 3 жыл бұрын

What about using electrolysis and bubble in Oxygen made from water being processed through a chemical or electrical method of generation.

@bpark10001 5 жыл бұрын

What if pure oxygen (from a concentrator were to be used, both in the sulfur burner and regenerating the solution)? Would that speed up the oxidation?

@damithpeiris7408 3 жыл бұрын

I want to know about CuCl2 with SO2 reaction appearance

@ChannelAbundantLife 5 жыл бұрын

I want to make ethyl linalool via an sn2 reaction between linalool in an alkaline solution and lithium ethoxide. Is there anyone that can tell me if this will give me a good yield or produce any undesirable byproducts? Thanks!

@williamblair1123 3 жыл бұрын

@ 4:30 he says let the Cu(II)Cl precipitate. I understand precipitate chemically means to start changing to a solid state. In this context, does he mean that this is in actuality heterogeneous and will reverse the dissociation process? I'm taking an intro chemistry class and can halfway follow along with NurdRage now. I kind of got confused there though. Thanks.

@spiderdude2099 3 жыл бұрын

If time and electricity are not huge concerns, I’m assuming you could compress the air, or enrich the oxygen content to get cylinders of compressed air/oxygen. I’m assuming that bubbling this stuff through would likely speed up the oxidation step.

@sciencestararvinsinghk 6 жыл бұрын

If you electrolyzed sulfuric acid to generate caro's acid which is h2so4+h2o2, then you could bubble in more so2 gas right?

@nivikliriak 6 жыл бұрын

What about copper acetate? (Or whatever compound is created by copper and peracetic acid?)

@TheTopLogician 6 жыл бұрын

Would adding hydrogen peroxide (maybe even the drug store 3% stuff) instead of air be more effective at regenerating the copper chloride? Or would the excess water cause problems?

@leavemealone1397 6 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to bubble SO2 gas into dilute h2so4 that is simultaneously electrolyzed? The idea is that electrolysis will produce active oxygen gas that reacts with SO2, so the SO2 will be converted almost immediately into h2so4. If done correctly i think the only input will be SO2, water and electricity

@debolinadey4377 3 жыл бұрын

Instead bubble SO2 in to 30% or more conc. H2O2 It should form sulfuric acid

@lbochtler 5 жыл бұрын

Wouldn't it be more efficient to disperse the solution into small droplets increasing the oxidation rate?

@omegahunter9 6 жыл бұрын

Hey NurdRage, could ozone be generated, dissolved in water, and then used to oxidize sulfur into sulfuric acid?

@binaryblade2 6 жыл бұрын

"now lets get started wasting valuable hours of our life". Comments like that is how you know someone has a PhD.

@reinvan5060 6 жыл бұрын

Can I make sulfuric acid by passing sulfur dioxide through I3 / KI solution?

@gilbertvelez4756 5 жыл бұрын

Would it be possible to burn MgSO4 to yield MgO(s) and SO3(g) and bubble through water? If that reaction is still be too violently exothermic then could Oxygen and Hydrogen be generated in two separate reactions and be combined with SO3 to yield H2SO4?

@bonbonpony 4 жыл бұрын

So how do _they_ make sulfuric acid so that it is cheaper to buy than making one yourself? What process do they use that is more efficient?

@mr.x8259 6 жыл бұрын

Next, could you show how to make fuming sulfuric acid?

@Frankyyodi 6 жыл бұрын

?? is there easy way making h2so4 by burning sulphur?

@friendly_alkali 6 жыл бұрын

What causes the oxidation to take so long?

@johnweems4586 6 жыл бұрын

Do you think bubbling pure oxygen or oxygen enriched air through would speed up the process?

@wiretamer5710 5 жыл бұрын

What about using a stronger oxidizer than oxygen, to regenerate the copper 2 chloride? Perhaps that would speed up the process?

@soapw8420 2 жыл бұрын

Can't we just heat the solution of hcl with cuso4 and collect the distilled liquid?

@jonprider3041 6 жыл бұрын

What about copper (II) nitrate?

@miguelchacon2717 4 жыл бұрын

How does distilling hydrochloric acid work, if it turns into hydrogen chloride gas when heated shouldn't it be bubbling through water?

@kantenklaus9753 4 ай бұрын

What was the concentration of the sulphuric acid

@Spencergolde 6 жыл бұрын

Do you think there would be any useful optimization value in buying a $250-300 PSA oxygen concentrator to speed up oxidative regeneration of the CuCl? The zeolite nitrogen scrubber in a PSA doesn't produce pure oxygen, but it can enrich the %oxygen up to around 80-90%, and the flow rate should be similar to the air injection used in this video, it's at least a high enough flow rate to meet human respiration needs.

@jojoboys6846 6 жыл бұрын

Hello I have made silver nitrate from pure silver pieces and nitric acid. Q: How can nitrates be purified after that? For information I use it in spraying nickel-chrome water. And you very much

@BranFlakesR1337 6 жыл бұрын

you should devise an iodine clock like reaction that goes through several colors instead of just black and colorless

@ae-bd5gr 4 күн бұрын

Hey, i wanted to try this and i was wondering if the concentrated sulfuric acid produced at the end could be purified by electrolysis which i hope could reduce copper metal and oxidise chlorine before destroying too much acid. Anyone thinks this will work?

@twocvbloke 6 жыл бұрын

So, how much Sulphur Hexafluoride do you get through making these videos then? :P

@kevinbates6459 6 жыл бұрын

Can i drink this?

@EweChewBrrr01 6 жыл бұрын

What do you do with all the chemicals after the experiments? Do you discard them or just store them for later use?

@maggiep9007 5 жыл бұрын

I think he stores the waste he can't safely neutralize to give to chemical disposal companies, or something.

@6alecapristrudel 6 жыл бұрын

Hey, NurdRage! This video reminded me of something I've been trying with mixed results. I tried making copper metal powder by reducing copper sulfate in sulfuric acid with SO2 (sulfite). Though I don't have any H2SO4 left and can't try it again. My reasoning is SO2 reduces copper to Cu(I) (Cu2O), acid then dissolves it and Cu(I) disproportionates to Cu metal and Cu(II) which then reacts again. Could you maybe try it? I'd like to see if it works and if not - why. Cheers!

@klauskarpfen9039 8 ай бұрын

Copper metal powder can be made by reacting a copper sulfate solution with aluminium foil.

@friedrichmarkus3574 6 жыл бұрын

i wonder what concentration you reached after 3 times ? You said 96 gramms, but how much so2 you spend ?

@DanielSMatthews 6 жыл бұрын

If you used pure electrolytically generated oxygen rather than air would that speed up the process? Also when clearing the filter and adding back the HCl, why not just back wash the filter with the HCl? Anyway thanks for sharing, any process that uses catalysts is interesting .

@htomerif 6 жыл бұрын

Just to check with anyone who knows, when getting a lab glass starter set, is 24/40 grinding the most common? It seems like the laboy stuff is all 24/40. Its a pretty steep investment, though. (for me)

@beezrclean 6 жыл бұрын

Does anyone know a vid where he talks about chemistry class? I saw him comment he doesn't like it

@lamamriaissa1165 3 жыл бұрын

but why the sulferic acide don't reacte withe mono cloride cooper to give mono sulfate cooper or Cu2 So4

@dorzsboss 8 ай бұрын

I etching my circuit boards with copper chloride solved in muriatic acid, bubbleing air in it and it takes about an hour to get the job done.

@ianswartz2741 6 жыл бұрын

I've always wanted to make Sulfuric Acid by the Copper Chloride Process :D

@darquisraquelmoralesmonsal2863 2 жыл бұрын

Hola buenas, puedes colocar los subtítulos en español

@johnstarkey9327 6 жыл бұрын

The audio sounds awesome on head phones. but I really am curious as to how you burn the sulfur. Is that a mix of sulfur and wax? great vids loving the science.

@K0ester 2 жыл бұрын

3 year old comment i realize, but sulfur will burn in open air by itself, nothing else needed

@AndriSimbolon-gf5nc 6 жыл бұрын

NurdRage! Will you make videos about sinthesis graphene from graphite

@PleaseStopReadingMyName 6 жыл бұрын

Instead of using an air buubler, could one safely use a commercially available oxygen concentrator during the oxidizing step? Would that exponentially reduce the overall time spent on this process, or does introducing concentrated O2 create a whole other set of problems that I didn't think through before hastily typing this out?

@jacogomez1093 2 жыл бұрын

yes, you can and it works like a charm!