Sunday, July 04, 2021

[jtspptxy] Nitric acid from combustion condensate

If one burns a hydrocarbon in air, which has a large amount of nitrogen, are nitrogen oxides produced, perhaps trace amounts?  If the product gases (which include water vapor) are condensed to room temperature, does the solution include nitric acid?  If so, burning anything with hydrogen in air is considerably more complicated than burning in pure oxygen.

Inspired by water condensed from a natural gas furnace.  The water, piped through copper tubing, seemed to have dissolved a hole, after many years, in the tubing at a bend.  Nitric acid dissolves copper.

corroded hole in copper pipe corroded hole in copper pipe corroded hole in copper pipe

Or, the nitric acid might the product of burning some impurities in the natural gas, not nitrogen in the atmosphere.

If one burns a hydrocarbon in pure oxygen, the products are CO2 and H2O.  If one condenses the products, does some of carbon dioxide dissolve into the water, producing carbonic acid?

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