[SD rockman]

 ???Hello to everyone.  As you might have figured out, I'm new here.  First of all I am not a chemist and my only studies in chemistry was basic in high school and industrial chemical processes in college.  I am a retired GI and rockhound.  About 20 years ago when I was renewing my interest in rocks and such I purchased a field test kit from of all places a used furniture store.  The kit was put together by Keene Engineering in California and suprisingly enough there are still in business. 

The kit came with Hydrochloric Acid, Sulphuric Acid, adn Nitric Acid.  I also came with instructions for making various tests for minerals and metals.  The cardboard box it came in fell apart so I put everything in a wooden box.  Well, life priorities change and I didn't get back to rockhounding until recently.  I found the box the other day and found several problems.  Alot of the chemicals have just evaporated or absorbed moisture and turned to rock.  I can replace those chemical but I have one serious problem.

I now have a plastic bottle of an unknown acid.  Why an acid, well it turns blue litmus paper red and on my wide range litmus paper it registers a 2.  The other two containers of acid have intact labels and are Hydrochloric Acid and Sulphuric Acid.  The problem is that the original Hydrochloric Acid bottle is quite small and empty.  So now I don't really know whether the unknown is a replacement for the Hydrochloric Acid or it is Nitric Acid.  I don't have any titration equipment to perform any tests on the unknown.  I intend to put a drop of it on some limestone to see if I get a reaction.  Is there any testing I can do that will tell me whether this acid is Hydrochloric or Nitric. 

The other problem I have is that the original plastic container has a tiny hole in the bottom, it is seeping and I need to get this acid transferred into another proper plastic container.  I don't have any extra plastic bottles of the same size that I usually store my acid in so I'll have to order some.  In the mean time I have the unknown in its original plastic bottle sitting in another plastic container sitting in a third container.  I have a few plastic bottles from over-the-counter multi-vitamins and was wondering whether or not they could serve as a temporary storage until I get the right bottles.

You can all have a field day with how many mistakes I've made but I need a little immediate help if possible.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Tom Beno in Rapid City, South Dakota

[Borek]

What was the original concentration of these acids?

pH of 2 doesn't sound like a strong acid - or, if it is a strong acid, it is quite diluted.

Probably the safest temporary container would be glass. There are plastics that will easily survive both nitric and hydrochloric acid (even a concentrated one), but not knowing what the bottles are made of makes them rather poor choice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrate_test - I understand you have no reagents, but it may give you some ideas.

Testing for chlorides is simple when you have any soluble silver salt. Otherwise it is not easy.

[billnotgatez]

@SD rockman

Is this the company that made the kit?

http://www.keeneeng.com/

[Enthalpy]

I thought the odour would tell between nitric and hydrochloric acids.

[TyPie]

Welcome to the forums²⁺

I think nitric acid and hydrochloric both react with limestone. 

Ca(OH)2⁺2HCL--> CaCl2⁺2H2O

Ca(OH)2⁺2HNO3--> Ca(NO3)2⁺2H2O

I think the hcl is usually 10 to 30 percent acid for geologists. Perhaps you could take the weight difference from before and after the reactions. 

I think calcium chloride should make it much more difficult for ice to form.

[Furanone]

I can tell you from experience that a 0.25% HCl solution is around pH 2 (pH 1.83 exactly)

[Nakmus]

Very late to the party, I know, but only nitric acid will oxidize copper metal. Hydrochloric will not.

However, be aware that if it is nitric acid, large amounts of NO₂, nitrogendioxide, will be made. This is a darkred/brown pungent gas that is pretty nasty, and should not be made inside, or in a poor ventilated area.