Home >
Community >
Can 5% sulfuric acid and 3% hydrogen peroxide form a piranha solution?
Upvote
13
Downvote
+ Hydrogen peroxide
+ Acids
+ Chemistry
+ Hydrogen
Posted by
Alan Bustany
Can 5% sulfuric acid and 3% hydrogen peroxide form a piranha solution?
I don’t believe so, no. However, my main reason for asserting this is simply that people would happily use those dilute reagents (rather than concentrated sulfuric acid and 30% peroxide) if it were actually effective. But I can’t provide you a ready explanation as to why, exactly, concentrated sulfuric acid is required. Most likely, the excess water kills the effectiveness. I do believe you could make piranha solution using concentrated sulfuric acid and 3% peroxide, but it would obviously have less total activity, so to speak, than one made from 30% peroxide.
I don’t believe so, no. However, my main reason for asserting this is simply that people would happily use those dilute reagents (rather than concentrated sulfuric acid and 30% peroxide) if it were actually effective. But I can’t provide you a ready explanation as to why, exactly, concentrated sulfuric acid is required. Most likely, the excess water kills the effectiveness. I do believe you could make piranha solution using concentrated sulfuric acid and 3% peroxide, but it would obviously have less total activity, so to speak, than one made from 30% peroxide.
Since you think you can boil hydrogen peroxide to increase its concentration, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ENOUGH ABOUT THESE SOLUTIONS TO HANDLE AND MANIPULATE THEM SAFELY.
Boiling them would not make them more concentrated. There are many other factors involved than just the boiling point of water.
Even people who have gotten advanced degrees in chemistry and other sciences have accidents with such chemicals. And they know the dangers and how to decrease the likelihood of a catastrophic accident. They also work in laboratories which have been engineered with fine hoods, shatter-proof explosion shields, eye washes and safety showers and they wear protective equipment to minimize injury in the case of an accident, and still occasionally one of the accidents that still occur costs a scientist his life.
So for someone without that training to plan to handle these very dangerous chemicals without training, without the proper equipment and likely not having the safety equipment and PPE that the scientists wear, is foolhearty and could result in disaster hurting yourself and others. It's not safe to do this kind of work anywhere except a properly equiped and maintained chemistry lab. And such work can only be done safely by properly educated personal who have done an assessment of the risks involved and made sure that safety equipment to quickly correct any problems that could occur is present, as well as trained safety personal to use it.
I'm not exaggerating here. Even trained chemists and trained safety personal are maimed or killed if they don't follow safe procedures and that is a frequent I occurrance with untrained personel in improper facilities. Think if how often the news reports fire or explosions ineth labs.
And that brings me to my final point. If you do this, and you blow up or burn down the house, you will have voided your homeowners or renters insurance. And you will likely be charged with charges ranging from reckless endangerment to involuntary manslaughter, or even with murder if the explosion kills a neighbor. The law comes down hard on illegal “labs” because they are so very dangerous. THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!
Since you think you can boil hydrogen peroxide to increase its concentration, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ENOUGH ABOUT THESE SOLUTIONS TO HANDLE AND MANIPULATE THEM SAFELY.
Boiling them would not make them more concentrated. There are many other factors involved than just the boiling point of water.
Even people who have gotten advanced degrees in chemistry and other sciences have accidents with such chemicals. And they know the dangers and how to decrease the likelihood of a catastrophic accident. They also work in laboratories which have been engineered with fine hoods, shatter-proof explosion shields, eye washes and safety showers and they wear protective equipment to minimize injury in the case of an accident, and still occasionally one of the accidents that still occur costs a scientist his life.
So for someone without that training to plan to handle these very dangerous chemicals without training, without the proper equipment and likely not having the safety equipment and PPE that the scientists wear, is foolhearty and could result in disaster hurting yourself and others. It's not safe to do this kind of work anywhere except a properly equiped and maintained chemistry lab. And such work can only be done safely by properly educated personal who have done an assessment of the risks involved and made sure that safety equipment to quickly correct any problems that could occur is present, as well as trained safety personal to use it.
I'm not exaggerating here. Even trained chemists and trained safety personal are maimed or killed if they don't follow safe procedures and that is a frequent I occurrance with untrained personel in improper facilities. Think if how often the news reports fire or explosions ineth labs.
And that brings me to my final point. If you do this, and you blow up or burn down the house, you will have voided your homeowners or renters insurance. And you will likely be charged with charges ranging from reckless endangerment to involuntary manslaughter, or even with murder if the explosion kills a neighbor. The law comes down hard on illegal “labs” because they are so very dangerous. THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!
I don’t believe so, no. However, my main reason for asserting this is simply that people would happily use those dilute reagents (rather than concentrated sulfuric acid and 30% peroxide) if it were actually effective. But I can’t provide you a ready explanation as to why, exactly, concentrated sulfuric acid is required. Most likely, the excess water kills the effectiveness.
I do believe you could make piranha solution using concentrated sulfuric acid and 3% peroxide, but it would obviously have less total activity, so to speak, than one made from 30% peroxide.
I don’t believe so, no. However, my main reason for asserting this is simply that people would happily use those dilute reagents (rather than concentrated sulfuric acid and 30% peroxide) if it were actually effective. But I can’t provide you a ready explanation as to why, exactly, concentrated sulfuric acid is required. Most likely, the excess water kills the effectiveness.
I do believe you could make piranha solution using concentrated sulfuric acid and 3% peroxide, but it would obviously have less total activity, so to speak, than one made from 30% peroxide.
More
VOTE
Since you think you can boil hydrogen peroxide to increase its concentration, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ENOUGH ABOUT THESE SOLUTIONS TO HANDLE AND MANIPULATE THEM SAFELY.
Boiling them would not make them more concentrated. There are many other factors involved than just the boiling point of water.
Even people who have gotten advanced degrees in chemistry and other sciences have accidents with such chemicals. And they know the dangers and how to decrease the likelihood of a catastrophic accident. They also work in laboratories which have been engineered with fine hoods, shatter-proof explosion shields, eye washes and safety showers and they wear protective equipment to minimize injury in the case of an accident, and still occasionally one of the accidents that still occur costs a scientist his life.
So for someone without that training to plan to handle these very dangerous chemicals without training, without the proper equipment and likely not having the safety equipment and PPE that the scientists wear, is foolhearty and could result in disaster hurting yourself and others. It's not safe to do this kind of work anywhere except a properly equiped and maintained chemistry lab. And such work can only be done safely by properly educated personal who have done an assessment of the risks involved and made sure that safety equipment to quickly correct any problems that could occur is present, as well as trained safety personal to use it.
I'm not exaggerating here. Even trained chemists and trained safety personal are maimed or killed if they don't follow safe procedures and that is a frequent I occurrance with untrained personel in improper facilities. Think if how often the news reports fire or explosions ineth labs.
And that brings me to my final point. If you do this, and you blow up or burn down the house, you will have voided your homeowners or renters insurance. And you will likely be charged with charges ranging from reckless endangerment to involuntary manslaughter, or even with murder if the explosion kills a neighbor. The law comes down hard on illegal “labs” because they are so very dangerous. THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!
Since you think you can boil hydrogen peroxide to increase its concentration, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ENOUGH ABOUT THESE SOLUTIONS TO HANDLE AND MANIPULATE THEM SAFELY.
Boiling them would not make them more concentrated. There are many other factors involved than just the boiling point of water.
Even people who have gotten advanced degrees in chemistry and other sciences have accidents with such chemicals. And they know the dangers and how to decrease the likelihood of a catastrophic accident. They also work in laboratories which have been engineered with fine hoods, shatter-proof explosion shields, eye washes and safety showers and they wear protective equipment to minimize injury in the case of an accident, and still occasionally one of the accidents that still occur costs a scientist his life.
So for someone without that training to plan to handle these very dangerous chemicals without training, without the proper equipment and likely not having the safety equipment and PPE that the scientists wear, is foolhearty and could result in disaster hurting yourself and others. It's not safe to do this kind of work anywhere except a properly equiped and maintained chemistry lab. And such work can only be done safely by properly educated personal who have done an assessment of the risks involved and made sure that safety equipment to quickly correct any problems that could occur is present, as well as trained safety personal to use it.
I'm not exaggerating here. Even trained chemists and trained safety personal are maimed or killed if they don't follow safe procedures and that is a frequent I occurrance with untrained personel in improper facilities. Think if how often the news reports fire or explosions ineth labs.
And that brings me to my final point. If you do this, and you blow up or burn down the house, you will have voided your homeowners or renters insurance. And you will likely be charged with charges ranging from reckless endangerment to involuntary manslaughter, or even with murder if the explosion kills a neighbor. The law comes down hard on illegal “labs” because they are so very dangerous. THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!
More
VOTE