Acetic Acid Lab Report

Acetic acid, a pungent smelling colourless liquid having sour taste, used very commonly in the chemistry laboratories. It got its name from Latin word Acetum, which means vinegar. Pure acetic acid is also called glacial acetic acid, because in winters it freezes easily as temperature goes below 16-17°C. Therefore it looks like as if a small glacier is there in the bottle, hence called glacial acetic acid.
Laboratory and daily life uses of acetic acid are:
(i) Acetic acid is used in household kitchens as vinegar (4% to 8% acetic acid solution) for pickling of vegetables and chillies etc.
(ii) Acetic acid is used as an excellent solvent for dissolving polar substances, as well as in synthesis of some organic compounds like terephthalic acid (TPA).
(iii)
The reaction used for production of vinyl acetate using ethylene, acetic acid and oxygen over a palladium catalyst, in gas phase is shown below:
2 H3C–COOH + 2 C2H4 + O2 → 2 H3C–CO–O–CH=CH2 + 2 H2O
Vinyl acetate synthesised is used for production of polyvinyl acetate.
Acetic anhydride
Acetic anhydride can be synthesized by condensation reaction of two molecules of acetic acid. The main process involves dehydration of acetic acid to give ketene at 700-750 °C. Ketene is thereafter reacted with acetic acid to obtain the anhydride:
CH3CO2H → CH2=C=O + H2O
CH3CO2H + CH2=C=O → (CH3CO)2O
Acetic anhydride is an acetylating agent. As such, its major application is for cellulose acetate, a synthetic textile. Acetic anhydride is also a reagent for the production of heroin.
Ester production
Acetic acid can be used for synthesis of various esters like ethyl acetate, propyl acetate, n-butyl acetate, isobutyl acetate etc. These esters are commonly used as solvents for inks, paints and coatings. The esters are produced by acid catalyzed reaction of acetic acid with the corresponding