How is hcl made

Hydrochloric acid in its concentrated, liquid form has a strong irritating odor and is very corrosive. It can cause damage, such as chemical burns, upon contact, according to the U. National Library of Medicine. The U. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC notes that hydrochloric acid can cause eye damage, even blindness, if splashed in the eyes.

Ingestion of concentrated hydrochloric acid can cause severe injury to the mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach. Personal protective equipment PPE such as vapor respirators, rubber gloves, splash goggles and face shields should be used when handling hydrochloric acid.

If used in the workplace, it is recommended that an eye flush station be available in case of accidental exposure. When using pool cleaners that contain hydrochloric acid also known as muriatic acid , it is important to follow directions on the product label for safe handling.

The CDC has developed two posters with recommendations for pool chemical safety handling as well as storage of pool chemicals for pool owners and operators. Metal containers are not suitable storage containers for hydrochloric acid due to its corrosive nature.

Plastic containers, such as those made of PVC , can typically be used to store hydrochloric acid. The food industry uses hydrochloric acid to process a variety of food products.

Food and Drug Administration. Hydrochloric acid is generally recognized as safe when used as a buffer and neutralizing agent. Hydrochloric acid is used to adjust the pH of swimming pool water. Chlorine levels in pool water is dependent on the pH of the water, which can be optimized with chemicals such as hydrochloric acid.

Chronic exposure to hydrochloric acid can be dangerous. They have the potential to lead to gastroenteritis. The main effect of phosgene results from the dissolution of the gas in the mucous membranes deep in the lung, where it is converted by hydrolysis into carbonic acid and the corrosive hydrochloric acid. The latter disrupts the alveolar-capillary membranes so that the lung becomes filled with fluid pulmonary edema.

Hydrochloric acid is also partly responsible for the harmful or blistering effects of mustard gas. In the presence of water, such as on the moist surface of the eyes or lungs, mustard gas breaks down forming hydrochloric acid.

Hydrochloric acid in high concentrations forms acidic mists. Both the mist and the solution have a corrosive effect on human tissue, with the potential to damage respiratory organs, eyes, skin, and intestines. Upon mixing hydrochloric acid with common oxidizing chemicals, such as bleach NaClO or permanganate KMnO 4 , the toxic gas chlorine is produced.

To minimize the risks while working with hydrochloric acid, appropriate precautions should be taken, including wearing rubber or PVC gloves, protective eye goggles, and chemical-resistant clothing. The hazards of solutions of hydrochloric acid depend on the concentration.

The following table lists the EU classification of hydrochloric acid solutions:. The Environmental Protection Agency rates and regulates hydrochloric acid as a toxin.

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Colorimetry-Software Day Free Trial. Your browser is not current. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. Your browser does not support JavaScript. To use all the functions on Chemie. DE please activate JavaScript. Hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid. IUPAC name. CAS number. RTECS number. Catalysis in industry Chemical reactors Cracking and related refinery processes Distillation Extracting crude oil and natural gas Green chemistry Recycling in the chemical industry.

Polymers: an overview Degradable plastics Methanal plastics Formaldehyde plastics Polyamides Polycarbonates Poly chloroethene Polyvinyl chloride Polyesters Poly ethene Polyethylene Poly methyl 2-methylpropenoate Polymethyl methacrylate Poly phenylethene Polystyrene Poly propene Polypropylene Poly propenoic acid Polyacrylic acid Poly propenonitrile Polyacrylonitrile Poly tetrafluoroethene Polytetrafluoroethylene Polyurethanes Silicones.

Basic chemicals Hydrogen chloride. Uses of hydrogen chloride Among its many applications in the chemical industries, hydrogen chloride is used: in the production of 1,2-dichloroethane ethylene dichloride and chloroethene vinyl chloride used in turn to make poly chloroethene PVC.

This is, in effect, recycling as most of the hydrogen chloride has been produced as a co-product when chlorine reacts with a reactant, for example in the manufacture of chloroethene vinyl chloride , to make PVC. Acid, surplus to requirements see below , can be electrolysed to form hydrogen and chlorine. A particular advance for this electrolysis, which is being used by Bayer in China, is the ODC oxygen-depleting cathode process.

Other acids are sometimes used to pickle stainless steel.