> chemistry > acides > acide-sulfurique > purifying-sulfuric-acid-drain-cleaner-nilered

Purifying Sulfuric Acid Drain Cleaner

NileRed - 2016-01-17

WARNING: This process is EXTREMELY dangerous. Hot sulfuric acid can instantly burn and char your skin. Please don't try to repeat anything you see here!

UPDATE: I had to do this again for more sulfuric acid. For boiling chips, I smashed a porcelain dish and the little pieces worked really well to keep things under control. No crazy bumping!

Hello everyone! So, a lot of people have been asking for this and finally it is here!

It is a pretty long one and it took me a long time to edit .

In this video, we clean sulfuric acid using both the H2O2 method and distillation.

Piranha solution video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLpSapjKcxM

I plan to do an Q and A video, so if you have any questions you'd like me to address in the video, leave them in the comments.

Merch store (NileRed Pin & Stickers): https://store.dftba.com/collections/nilered

NileRed website (Glassware & Beaker Mugs): https://nile.red

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2448989&ty=h
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nile-Red-1648800202046876/

NileRed - 2019-01-22

WARNING: This process is EXTREMELY dangerous. Hot sulfuric acid can instantly burn and char your skin. Please don't try to repeat anything you see here!

heath mcdonald - 2020-02-29

@Jane Doe X yes baking soda for any acid I've ever been in possession of and once I had some industrial strength drain cleaner and spilled a drop and it hissed like a pressure cooker for a split second so I'd say it was particularly strong lol

Mycollig Jusvartid - 2020-03-13

Would putting the solution in a vacuum chamber be a safer alternative to heating it?

heath mcdonald - 2020-03-13

@Mycollig Jusvartid I know I'll boil at a slower temp but I would just buy it in a higher concentration.. Like liquid fire® it is in the plumbing section and it is certainly MUCH MUCH safer

Tkdt - 2020-03-15

@Jordan Ribbink how is your cat doing

C Lopez - 2020-03-17

Dude, stupid people burn others with acid on purpose, you saying 'do not do this' will not stop them but your instructions will help them. So well done, you made acid attacks easier to do for idiots that can't do chemistry normally. It is clear there was no ethical consideration done before publishing this video.

Don't Even Bother - 2016-06-19

A chemist shows you his human side when breaking a trusty piece of glassware...


RIP

Swagnermite - 2019-11-02

a part of my soul dies each time i accidently smash a piece of glassware

Bolorbold Ariguun - 2019-11-03

F

Lana G - 2019-11-28

One of my classmates in my AP Chem class broke a graduated pipette just last week.

RIP pipette, you lived a good life.

pclouds - 2020-01-04

https://youtu.be/tGqVMbAQhBs?t=204 muahahaha

dol- -lod - 2020-01-31

F
you'll be remembered

pclouds - 2020-01-04

6:16 sacrificing one flask. He got the taste now. 4 years later, massacre of all beakers!

Pulkownik Pinochet - 2020-01-29

This comment is gold

yingxia wei - 2020-02-28

Exactly! He threw beakers like basketballs! 🏀

Cody'sLab - 2017-12-23

bet the grey-white hoodie has some hole in it now. lol I've never been able to work with this stuff without at least one hole in what ever i was wearing.

Arved - - 2018-07-11

Can relate

Dewl Dewl - 2019-03-09

I hade SA melt part of my under-powered rubber gloves together

Patrick Earthridge - 2019-08-07

When working at an auto parts store, you never wear good pants. Because they will be filled with holes from leaking sulfuric acid car batteries. RIP Wrangler work jeans, you will be missed

Jon Ross - 2020-01-30

@ᏰĪᏝᏝ ՇÎρɧᏋƦ When I search your comments they show up on some chemistry sites... You copy pasted most of that didn't ya?

Real Name - 2020-02-29

Was using some sulfuric acid near where I do my laundry. Never making that mistake again...

Tim Perry - 2018-11-29

"Boiling sulfuric acid indoors is kinda stupid."
Lol!

Gareth Baus - 2019-10-13

Never before has something been more true.

LA24Dogg - 2019-12-26

I litterily started cracking up so bad there !

Andrew Luttrell - 2016-01-17

"Once his body was crushed into moderately sized pieces." For science!

Fred Singateh - 2018-02-03

Dip hand in Carborane.

some asshole - 2018-11-13

Jeffery Dahmer?

David Rossington - 2019-07-08

You monster

Shinespark3 - 2019-04-16

Hey Geologist here. I know I'm late to the party but I wanted to point out that there are many, many different kinds of 'sand' that regular people use not knowing that there is SiO2 or 'silica' sand which is what NileRed is talking about then there is Carbonaceous sand which is CaCO3 (shell material from critters in oceans and stuff). If you plan to use 'sand' as a nucleation material for, whatever really, please be sure you are using the appropriate 'sand'. Try to find pure quartz sand that isn't super weathered or rounded. You want it to be course since it provides enough surface area for nucleation to occur as opposed to heavily rounded, smooth sand. And absolutely stay away from anything carbonaceous unless it is called for.

///// - 2019-10-06

So your a Geochemist right?

Heinz Linge - 2019-11-15

@///// even a regular geologist would know that

lazarlazarwantfiveothemyeet mysecondaccount - 2019-12-25

wow thats smart

Keriel Watson - 2020-01-25

I recall the time I was cleaning the sands in my old insect terrariums. Most of the sand I'd used was purchased quartz sand for aquariums, so washing in vinegar was perfectly effective and not at all exciting. I totally forgot that one terrarium was filled with sand I'd collected with the insects (ants) from the beach... Of course beach sand (here in Australia at least) is largely smashed coral and shells. The reaction to its vinegar bath was very amusing once I stopped wondering Wtf was going on and remembered where the sand had come from

Shamar Younge - 2020-01-28

The comment we didn't know we needed

Chee Kiat Teo - 2017-11-16

I just want to clean my drain, man.

the màkina grower - 2019-09-29

I need it for my synthesis, in the UK you need a licence for sulphuric acid and I'm not willing to jump hoops because thugs got it regulated

eVan 25 - 2017-09-24

RIP round bottom flask
2016~2016
1 like = 1 prayer

Edd LaPlante - 2019-03-09

Prayers round flask you were one of thr good ones!

Celestine Morningstar - 2019-08-02

*plays royalty free sad music*

Typrus - 2019-03-28

"Boiling sulfuric acid inside is kind of stupid"
Let's boil some mercury! 😂

211212112 - 2019-11-11

Yeah. We always did everything inside. But we had enclosures made for it

Oh yeah yeah - 2020-03-21

He didnt have a fume hood at the time dipshit @Typrus

Ed Gaar - 2018-01-01

“Once his body was crushed into moderately sized pieces, I was ready to move on to the next step”

NileRed, 2016

Shane K - 2018-11-19

I don't know why I love this channel, I never even took chemistry in school and will never do anything shown.

padathir - 2019-10-30

Same, but it's interesting to see a bit of how it works!

Oh yeah yeah - 2020-03-21

Dumb ass nigga

Keta - 2016-01-17

R.I.P. roundbottom flask :( we will miss you
Very cool video again exept that you should have censored the dead flask :D

Hàn Tín Vũ - 2017-09-13

Thomas Adams 4

Evan Wright - 2018-04-08

Why didn’t he just taze the flask instead of euthanizing it (lol jk)

Jammit Timmaj - 2018-05-24

It's ok. The flask had filled out its organ donor card.

Adrian Pietkiewicz - 2018-07-18

"Once his body was crushed into moderately sized pieces..." that's a statement you don't want taken out of context

Eugene S Smith - 2018-07-23

Keta: I felt sad for the poor flask! :- (

MjFreak - 2016-01-18

hey there,
can you make a "methyl hexanoate" (strawberry flavoring) video, please.
Thanks in advance ;)

Kayra Kaya - 2020-01-26

Is it toxic, corrosive or carcinogenic?

Brandy Ellis - 2020-02-24

Kayra Kaya haha

Roger and Lynda Beall - 2018-08-02

Interesting. I worked in an acid (H2SO4) factory ICI in the 70's I am a chemical engineer. I used to get holes in my jeans and my orange car went yellow from the SO2. I used to titrate to measure strength, but I found dipping a match head in the acid, and timing how long it took to light, was very accurate too. We made about 600 tonnes per day.

*S U C T I O N* - 2019-04-18

Wouldn't match heads differ from brand to brand

HMan - 2019-07-19

@*S U C T I O N* They had "match" match heads.

Matthew King - 2016-11-03

Hey, I noticed there are chemicals you are going to use almost every time you do an experiment/extraction/demonstration. Almost everything uses at least one of the following: Sodium Hydroxide, Hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, DCM, etc. You should do a series on how to get a good source of all of these chemicals from OTC products. You have covered some, but others would be useful.

TwitchingDan - 2018-12-11

@Sheldon Robertson Acid-Base reaction will neutralize both into H2O and a salt, in this case Na2S. No nitrogen, let alone nitric acid, in sight.

Sheldon Robertson - 2018-12-11

@TwitchingDan Yeah I meant potassium nitrate, (saltpeter,) not sodium hydroxide, (lye.) Like the former Governor of Texas once said, oops.

robb pratt - 2019-02-14

love the positiveness

gazzarrr666 - 2019-10-19

@Sheldon Robertson Jeeeesus! I hope nobody tried that one. Still, I don't suppose they'd come back to complain about it....

Peter Kionga-Kamau - 2020-03-05

@Matt K You should be able to make NaOH by DC electrolysis of NaCL solution with carbon electrodes, although when I tried it I got a lot of rust - either the water, electrodes (AA battery cores) or salt must have had a lot of ferrous impurities.

John Griffin - 2016-01-18

"Boiling Sulfuric Acid Indoors is kind of stupid'

lol i did that a long time ago and it ended badly.

Joseph Dugan - 2016-10-03

Here is a reminder from The American Medical Association......

DON'T POUR SULFURIC ACID ON YOUR GENITALS!!!!!!!

Hans Orsic - 2018-01-30

but how else do i remove my grey pubes?

Alex Baran - 2019-07-16

Actually, some people should be encouraged to pour concentrated sulfuric acid on their genitals.
It could be for the best.

bitTorrenter - 2019-10-20

@Alex Baran Paedos?

Kryptic - 2020-01-26

@bitTorrenter idiots in cars

Koketso Isaac - 2020-03-15

What is genitals
Thank

SuperAngelofglory - 2016-01-22

for accuracy's sake, the azeotrope is actually 98.3%

Michael Frank - 2019-06-08

@Fry Pan Can you detail the reaction that splits sulphuric acid into hydrogen sulfide? I'm very curious!

Fry Pan - 2019-06-09

@Michael Frank nope

Caju - 2019-08-31

@Michael Frank

H2SO4 + 8H+ + 8e- --> H2S + 4H2O

MrRedeyedJedi - 2019-10-03

Oh jeez there's always one

NEY Industries - 2019-10-05

NEEEERRDDDD.

TheOfficialCzex - 2019-07-21

Do you ever feel an emotional connection towards the glassware you own, use, clean, and break?

Kevin Byrne - 2017-03-24

9:07 -- "I haven't really come up with a foolproof way to determine that it's 98% sulfuric acid."
That's why God invented titration. (Get thyself a burette.)

Roton - 2019-04-10

works especially well when you are mid-destillation! Just stop the destillation every 10 sec and titrate the distilate!

Butterfly of Sin - 2019-07-24

@Roton lol

deepstrasz - 2019-11-22

"Sulfuric acid must be treated with the utmost respect".

Storyspren - 2019-05-30

"The entire setup is then moved outside because boiling sulfuric acid indoors is kind of stupid."
Good of you to say that. I was gonna do it on my bed next to my breakfast beans.

pudy248 - 2019-06-01

what. breakfast beans? is this some european thing

rawhamburgerjoe - 2019-12-15

Beans.

videoclipits - 2019-04-22

Id like to see a video on the chemistry how these organic "inhibitors" work to prevent the H2SO4 from reacting with metals.

Mark Richardson - 2016-11-17

Question occurs:
Can't you just take it to say 220 F. to boil off the water? Slow..
Then in subsequent condensing, elevate heats?
Thanks for the video!

The Creeper King - 2018-09-08

Edit: I laughed too hard when he “killed” the broken glass thing

CreeperSky - 2019-04-01

Close your eyes and listen to this part: 6:18 -6:33

PyroChemist - 2019-04-21

hahaha

lazarlazarwantfiveothemyeet mysecondaccount - 2019-12-25

me: aeaeaeaeeaeaeaeaeaeayh'
nile red:' why r u roning, why r u roning?'

Shaun Dickey - 2019-08-11

@7:05 - "because boiling sulfuric acid inside is kinda stupid." lol I love your deadpan delivery of this statement!

Camroc37 - 2016-01-18

7:25 I was waiting for the "Lol JK". It didn't come. Why.

Ben B. - 2017-03-20

Regarding "I haven't really come up with a foolproof way to determine that it's 98% sulfuric acid." The boiling point vs. concentration curve for sulfuric acid solutions is fairly steep. Given that you're already boiling it in the first process, you should be able to get a good idea of concentration if you had a thermometer that could measure up to ~350C. Then you only have to measure one variable, rather than needing to accurately measure both density and temperature.

Alternatively, even if your thermometer isn't very accurate, it should be clear that it's 98% when the temperature stops rising. May be able to read that with an IR thermometer.

Kevin Byrne - 2016-01-17

9:06 -- You haven't found a way to determine the concentration of sulfuric acid?
How about titration?

Kyle Steele - 2018-12-01

I tried using my litmus paper on it -- but it just turned to nothing. How can I be sure it's concentrated?




(Just kidding)

nicougrikify Pelletier - 2016-02-03

16:00 How do you know you have more concentrated solution, instead of a less concentrated solution ? wouldnt it show the same visuals ?

Super Sophisticated - 2019-10-15

"Once his body was crushed down into moderately-sized pieces, I was ready for the next step."

Vinicius Paula - 2017-12-12

17:01 "... sulfuric acid that we disTILLED"

Dhoom Alfarhan - 2019-07-02

"I was nice and I killed him quickly so he wouldn't suffer too much"

Rsaramallac - 2016-01-18

FRANK NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
he.... was my friend....
sniff* at least he has use after death....

acroduster - 2016-01-28

dont crush the joints from you glass, ill sponsor you and repair your glass! ive loved your channel, and i just found a way i can help. ive been blowing borosilicate for a long time. i can save you money and get you into some custom apparatus for your work.

lazaglider - 2018-06-25

Marc-Antoine Replying to a reply made 4 months ago because attention seeking...

Marc-Antoine - 2018-06-26

lazaglider attention seeking? Yeah sure 👍

lazaglider - 2018-06-26

Marc-Antoine So glad we agree.

Aurelius R - 2018-08-22

and look who got downvoted... hmmm I wonder why that is

Donna Perygin - 2018-09-17

I know it's been 2 years, but where are you located? I need a repair.

Stefan Reich - 2017-03-06

6:14 Great humor

ArChemist - 2019-09-29

6:15 that hurts me

Dark Mice - 2020-02-10

15:15 look like a man wearing a foil cloak and hat, in the abstract style.

IBtehOmar - 2016-01-17

acid on skin vid lmao

xuNsh1ne - 2016-01-17

7:23 - Okay... Hydrofluoric acid please :D

Don't Even Bother - 2016-07-20

@mmmhorsesteaks what are you even trying to type here lol?

TheRolemodel1337 - 2016-07-20

@mmmhorsesteaks i first read underground lab xD
i was wondering how undergroundlabs can afford a nmr

mmmhorsesteaks - 2016-07-20

@TheRolemodel1337 pssst... you want some NMR analysis? I got your deuteroform right here...

Joshua Wan - 2017-10-02

how about superacids like Fluoroantimonic acid

Jonathan D - 2018-11-10

​@Ryan Sample no worries, he doens't have those fingers anymore

ElTurbinado - 2018-04-17

6:17 saddest anime death

Amateur Tech - 2018-04-15

6:38 communism 101

brian beck - 2017-12-30

"because boiling sulfuric acid indoors is kind of stupid!", still my favorite warning from all of your videos on the dangers of distilling or even using certain chemicals period!

Chloe Hennessey - 2018-11-02

Just happened across your channel.
AvE, Cody. And now you.
Thank you!

J H - 2020-03-18

2:40 The H2O2 was shipped to you in that semi-transparent bottle? That looks like UV light could get that and cause some decomposition. Seems odd.

cele ritas - 2019-06-06

9:05
Why dont you just test the PH of the vapor coming off the top to test when the solution is finished?

Also would love to see you make sulfuric acid from sulfur

施雅學 - 2018-04-04

17:20
I think it's the first time i hear BGM in your vid