[Glaudge]

i was wondering how to make nitric acid at home without using a compound that ends in nitrate already, and with stuff obtainable in stores, and how to go about making it,

thx, glaudge

[hmx9123]

Try Google.  Out of curiosity, what do you want the nitric acid for?

[billnotgatez]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acid

The above link gives a reasonable good explanation of the current methods of production but not the exact recipe. It is also a little indirect in letting you know the difficulties (including safety) of doing this at home. As a citizen scientist I have found that the production of nitric acid from other than nitrates is problematic especially if you want any concentration that requires additional steps. It surely is not as easy as producing hydrochloric acid. Some people who do etching with it find that getting it easily like at the corner hardware store is nearly impossible and have to deal with regulatory issues.

[Glaudge]

now my question is is there any company that sells the stuff without having to have the following:
license
credit card (using printout order forms or CODs)

[billnotgatez]

Nitric Acid

Formula: HNO3
Synonyms: –

Suppliers:

1. Some hydroponics suppliers sell it as a "pH Minus" (i.e. an agent to decrease the pH of water) for use in hard water areas.

Elements Hydroponics Centre (UK)
GroWell Hydroponics (UK)
HydroHobby (UK)

2. Some alternative photographic suppliers sell it.

Artcraft (USA)

3. Some art suppliers catering to serious artists sell it.

Kremer Pigments (Global)

[constant thinker]

If you buy it in any significant amounts a black chevy suburban may come down your driveway, and some men in black suits may come knocking.

If you do happen to find a supplier, and a black chevy suburban doesn't show up, please post/tell me where you got it from.

Good Luck.

[woelen]

i was wondering how to make nitric acid at home without using a compound that ends in nitrate already, and with stuff obtainable in stores, and how to go about making it,

thx, glaudge

In which country are you? If you are in the UK, or mainland Europe, then you can easily buy it. I just buy it locally in my city (in the Netherlands), at 53% concentration and no NO2 yellow contamination for EUR 9 per liter. In the UK it can be purchased at 38% concentration as pH-minus, in Germany it can be purchased online from chemical suppliers.

I am really amazed to see that getting nitric acid is so hard on the other side of the ocean. That's a pity, this chemical is a basic thing, which should be in the home lab of a somewhat more experienced citizen chemist.

Making it from non-nitrate sources is VERY hard. Making it from nitrites is an option, but if you can't get nitric acid or nitrates, then I'm quite sure you also can't get nitrites.

[enahs]

I am really amazed to see that getting nitric acid is so hard on the other side of the ocean.

It is not.
It is actually very easy.

[billnotgatez]

I think if you are 35 it is easier to get stuff here than if you are 15. The magic age may be 18 or 21. The process to get permits may seem trivial on the Internet, but I wonder if is worth the effort. Lastly, access to a credit card or pay pal may be of great importance as well. I also wonder if you live in Texas what are the hoops you have to go though. In New York you will find that having sparklers to be illegal. So enahs may have it easy, while others may have more roadblocks. I have yet to find nitric acid in the hardware store or pharmacy.

[enahs]

It is true, it probably does depend a lot on what state you live in. However, I have never had any trouble, ever, getting permits for dangerous chemicals. And age is a factor for sure. Also, you can not have felony's on your records when trying to get the permits, or at least, it will make it much more difficult.

[billnotgatez]

Is there a standard site for getting permits?

[hmx9123]

I'm not aware of any specific sites, but nitric acid is a 'flagged' chemical for individuals (or in sufficient quantity or with the right combination of chemicals, for companies as well).  That means the ATF may show up and see what you want to do with it.  You think this is a joke: it isn't.  I've known people that have received threatening letters from the DOJ and the ATF about the stuff they've bought.  You can find unscrupulous merchants who will sell stuff to individuals, but that's dicey.  The sad fact is, that after September 11, many of our rights and freedoms have been curtailed to 'protect' us from terrorists.  Nitric acid is much harder to obtain than before; I used to be able to get it at the hardware store as a wood conditioner (though it usually just created cracks in the wood), but no longer.

Just bear in mind that while nitric acid is a common and very useful chemical for many aspects of chemistry, it will always be under suspicion because it is a precursor to almost every major high explosive known.

[constant thinker]

...The sad fact is, that after September 11, many of our rights and freedoms have been curtailed to 'protect' us from terrorists.  Nitric acid is much harder to obtain than before; I used to be able to get it at the hardware store as a wood conditioner (though it usually just created cracks in the wood), but no longer.

Just bear in mind that while nitric acid is a common and very useful chemical for many aspects of chemistry, it will always be under suspicion because it is a precursor to almost every major high explosive known.

It's both a good and bad thing that it's harder to find. Good because then Joe Bomber won't be able to just go to his local hardware store to make his bomb. Instead he'll have to go through back channels which makes it a little more difficult, and he'll have a harder time obtaining sufficient quantities to make a large enough to boom to drop Bill Financial Building. It's bad though because now John Good, a law abiding citizen, who wants to do an experiment involving nitric acid will have a hard time getting it.

Sigh... In the end Joe Bomber can still get nitric acid, and he cal still make a bomb by other means. The home chemist yet again gets smothered.

[enahs]

I think it has more to do with frivolous lawsuits then stopping terrorism. When you live in a country where you can sue a company for your own injury through your own misusage and stupidity, and either win or force to settle out of court to stop wasting millions, all these things that are easily potentially harmful are being made harder to get…and have been long before 9-11.

[constant thinker]

I  know this is kind of ambiguous, but you can check out the US government's website.

http://www.usa.gov/

Look on the left side. I suggest checking laws and regulations, maybe federal and state government might be helpful also.