Tips to Let You Know Where and How to Obtain Sulfuric Acid
H2SO4 is a very dangerous chemical and that is why it is quite difficult to look for a place that sells it. Unlike everyday commodities that you can just readily buy anywhere, sulfuric acid presents a lot of problems when not handled properly that is why you need to know about the legal restrictions that go together with the purchasing of the acid.
Selling sulfuric acid is controlled by the UN, specifically the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. The acid is listed as one of the chemicals frequently used in illegal manufacturing for psychotropic substances and narcotic drugs. That is why knowing how to buy sulfuric acid would prove to be quite a difficult task. Also, in the United States, production and sales of the chemical is carefully and strictly monitored by the DEA.
Amidst all of these restrictions, sulfuric acid is a very important chemical. Totally banning the use of the acid would cripple a lot of industries, including the agriculture industry, the industrial industry, among others. Not to mention laboratories which use the acid in its researches and the automobile industry that uses the chemical for testing and analysis of car batteries. However, even with these uses, you still cannot purchase the acid easily, especially in its pure form.
Usually, what are being sold in the market with a much lighter restrictions are just products that have some sulfuric acid content. In its pure form, it is very difficult to purchase it. Sometime in 2007, there were some online shops that sell ninety-eight percent solution of the acid. But with all of the scare of terrorism and given the potentials of the chemical as an ingredient in making explosives, it is now difficult to find a shop that legitimately sells the acid in its pure form.
But as the saying goes, if there is a will, there’s a way. Sulphuric acid can still be extracted from products that make use of the acid. In this way, you can still get the acid in its pure form without having to worry about law complications. Below is a list of sources where you could get the acid:
1. Battery acid contains the chemical. You can extract the acid from these batteries if you just know how. You can go to a battery shop and ask if you could about acid/lead batteries.
2. Drain opener liquids that you can purchase from the hardware also contain the acid. Depending on the brand, the level of concentration also varies. These kinds of drain opener liquids come in plastic containers that are placed in a heavy plastic sack.
3. Most photo chemicals contain forty-eight percent concentrations. However, it is much more expensive than the drain opener liquids.
4. You can also go to an industrial chemist and ask if you can buy some of the chemical. You can also approach a pharmaceutical chemist. Both of them use the chemical in their work. They might have some to spare you.
5. Lastly, and the most convenient option but is equally as difficult, is finding a legitimate sulphuric acid retailer. These people are legally approved and could help you with your problems without running in conflict with the law. The catch, however, is these retailers are not actually easy to find.
As much as you need to use sulfuric acid and as much as you hate how regulations have made it difficult for you to buy the chemical straight without having to undergo all of those tiring chemistry processes just to extract the acid, you need to understand that these regulations are made to keep people’s lives safe because at the end of the day you need to remember that the chemical is very dangerous and hazardous to people’s lives.
Source