Page 76 - Encyclopedia of Chemical Compounds 3 Vols

ACETIC ACID

Interesting Facts

Ancient Romans boiled (Pb[C 2 H 3 O 2 ]). When they used
fermented wine (vinegar) in sapa as a sweetening agent
lead pots to make a sweet in their foods, the Romans
syrup called sapa. The acetic ingested the lead acetate
acid in the vinegar dissolved a which, over long periods of
small amount of lead from time, caused the lead poison
which the pots were made, ing from which so many of
producing lead acetate them died.

Researchers are constantly looking for new, more efficient,
more environmentally-friendly methods for making acetic acid.
In 2003, for example, chemists at the University of Southern
California reported on a new method for making acetic acid
directly from methane gas (CH 4 ) using a catalyst of palladium
andsulfuricacid.Otherresearchersarelookingforwaystooxidize
the waste gases produced from industrial processes to acetic acid.

COMMON USES AND POTENTIAL HAZARDS
Acetic acid is probably best known to most people as vine-
gar. In this form, it is used as a condiment and a food preserva-
tive. The greatest volume of acetic acid is used, however, in a
variety of chemical processes, especially the manufacture of
plastic materials such as polyvinyl acetate (PVA), polyethylene
terephthalate (PET), and cellulose acetate. A more recent use of
acetic acid is in the manufacture of calcium magnesium acetate
(CMA), a deicer. Traditionally, roads, highways, and airport
runways have been treated with calcium chloride (CaCl 2 )or
some other salt to remove snow and ice. These compounds have
serious environmental effects, however, and researchers have
long been looking for alternatives that are as effective in
removing snow and ice, but less harmful to the environment.
CMA has been the most promising of these alternatives, and its
production has produced a growing demand for acetic acid.
Some other applications of acetic acid include:
• As a cleaning agent;
• In the manufacture of photographic materials;

CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS 25