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Can acids dissolve plastic

Updated: 8/9/2023
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13y ago

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Acid rain is precipitation that is more acidic than normal. The terms "acidic" and "basic" (or "alkaline") are used to describe two chemical extremes. Mixing acids and bases can cancel out their extreme effects. A substance that is neither acidic nor basic is called "neutral." The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. The pH scale ranges from 0-14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH lower than 7 is acidic; higher than 7 is basic. Pure water is neutral. When both chemicals are mixed with water, the mixture can become either acidic or basic. Acid rain is rain with a pH below 5.6. Sulfuric acid and nitric acid account for 95% of the acids in acid rain. The sulfuric acid type is most commonly formed in areas that burn coal for electricity such as the northeastern United States. Acid rain formed by nitric acid is more common in areas with a lot of internal combustion engines (such as automobiles) - the Los Angeles basin is one example. The area most affected in the U.S. has been the Northeast where average rainfall is pH 4.0-4.5. Storms with a pH as low as 3.0-4.0 are not unusual and strongly acidic values under pH 3.0 have been reported. The area in the U.S. with the most rapid increase in acid precipitation seems to be the Southeast. West of the Mississippi River seems somewhat better except in certain trouble spots such as the Los Angeles Basin, the San Francisco Bay Area, and parts of Colorado. In other parts of the world, rainfall has also become increasingly acidic including Canada, Scandinavia, Germany, and the British Isles. Acid rain is a common feature of most large cities. Acid rain is very harmful to the environment. There are three major harmful effects of acid rain on an ecosystem: through contact with plants, contact with soil and water, and movement with trace materials. These effects on plants, soil, and water in turn affect other living organisms that depend on them. Acid rain is precipitation that is more acidic than normal. The terms "acidic" and "basic" (or "alkaline") are used to describe two chemical extremes. Mixing acids and bases can cancel out their extreme effects. A substance that is neither acidic nor basic is called "neutral." The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. The pH scale ranges from 0-14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH lower than 7 is acidic; higher than 7 is basic. Pure water is neutral. When both chemicals are mixed with water, the mixture can become either acidic or basic. Acid rain is rain with a pH below 5.6. Sulfuric acid and nitric acid account for 95% of the acids in acid rain. The sulfuric acid type is most commonly formed in areas that burn coal for electricity such as the northeastern United States. Acid rain formed by nitric acid is more common in areas with a lot of internal combustion engines (such as automobiles) - the Los Angeles basin is one example. The area most affected in the U.S. has been the Northeast where average rainfall is pH 4.0-4.5. Storms with a pH as low as 3.0-4.0 are not unusual and strongly acidic values under pH 3.0 have been reported. The area in the U.S. with the most rapid increase in acid precipitation seems to be the Southeast. West of the Mississippi River seems somewhat better except in certain trouble spots such as the Los Angeles Basin, the San Francisco Bay Area, and parts of Colorado. In other parts of the world, rainfall has also become increasingly acidic including Canada, Scandinavia, Germany, and the British Isles. Acid rain is a common feature of most large cities. Acid rain is very harmful to the environment. There are three major harmful effects of acid rain on an ecosystem: through contact with plants, contact with soil and water, and movement with trace materials. These effects on plants, soil, and water in turn affect other living organisms that depend on them.

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15y ago
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14y ago

Some do. Some plastics are resistant to some acids, and some acids are not affective against some plastics.

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12y ago

im in a chemistry lab right now, there is 16M nitric acid kept in plastic bottles, so no it does not

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13y ago

Different plastics are soluble to different degrees (mostly very little) in different acids.

Some polymers (plastics) are very soluble in petrochemical solvents.

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14y ago

you could try muriatic acid......

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13y ago

yes

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Q: Can acids dissolve plastic
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