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Khengchat Ng

What is the quickest way to dissolve steel?

Nesreen Elbehery  Follow

Two to look up as "homework ". Aqua Regia which is a mixture that dissolves gold. Not good enough for engineering and some other rare earth metals. Steel? Maybe. The other is Caro's acid. There's a YouTube video of it dissolving a fly. That's organic matter so it may not be good enough for steel. Worth a look though.

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Michael J. McFadden  Follow

Steel can be dissolved with a diluted solution of nitric acid and water. The chemical make up of nitric acid reacts to the iron in steel, producing iron nitrate and hydrogen gas. As this chemical reaction takes place, the steel begins to dissolve. The dissolving process of steel can sometimes take multiple applications, depending on the size and thickness of the metal......Experience gained is from a pylon collapsing in Ghana...As some corrosive substances were applied to the pylons

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Anthony John Finch  Follow

The fastest way is dissolving the stainless steel electrochemically using $\ce{H2SO4}$ at elevated temperature where the steel block is attached as an anode. Higher current densities lead to higher removal rate.

Alternatively a $\ce{FeCl3}$ with minimal content of $\ce{HCl}$ (up to 3%) heated at 45°C or higher.

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