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63-654: The inspiration for establishing the organisation came from Fredrich Tsander , a scientist, inventor, and romantic who dreamed of space travel. Tsander had begun to consider rocket-powered interplanetary flight as early as 1907 and was one of the founding members of the Society for the Study of Interplanetary Communication in 1924. In September 1931 Tsander formed the Moscow-based 'Group for the Study of Reactive Motion', better known by its Russian acronym “GIRD”. Initial funding

126-660: A 3:8 stoichiometry: The nitric oxide produced may react with atmospheric oxygen to give nitrogen dioxide . With more concentrated nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide is produced directly in a reaction with 1:4 stoichiometry: Upon reaction with nitric acid, most metals give the corresponding nitrates . Some metalloids and metals give the oxides ; for instance, Sn , As , Sb , and Ti are oxidized into SnO 2 , As 2 O 5 , Sb 2 O 5 , and TiO 2 respectively. Some precious metals , such as pure gold and platinum-group metals do not react with nitric acid, though pure gold does react with aqua regia ,

189-410: A base with respect to an acid such as sulfuric acid : The nitronium ion , [NO 2 ] , is the active reagent in aromatic nitration reactions. Since nitric acid has both acidic and basic properties, it can undergo an autoprotolysis reaction, similar to the self-ionization of water : Nitric acid reacts with most metals, but the details depend on the concentration of the acid and the nature of

252-415: A compartment for the carbon anode around which the nitric acid is formed. Nitric acid was pumped out from an earthenware pipe that was sunk down to the bottom of the pot. Fresh water was pumped into the top through another earthenware pipe to replace the fluid removed. The interior was filled with coke . Cast iron cathodes were sunk into the peat surrounding it. Resistance was about 3 ohms per cubic meter and

315-441: A concentration of 68% HNO 3 . This solution has a boiling temperature of 120.5 °C (249 °F) at 1 atm. It is known as "concentrated nitric acid". The azeotrope of nitric acid and water is a colourless liquid at room temperature. Two solid hydrates are known: the monohydrate HNO 3 ·H 2 O or oxonium nitrate [H 3 O] [NO 3 ] and the trihydrate HNO 3 ·3H 2 O . An older density scale

378-405: A concentration of 68% in water. When the solution contains more than 86% HNO 3 , it is referred to as fuming nitric acid . Depending on the amount of nitrogen dioxide present, fuming nitric acid is further characterized as red fuming nitric acid at concentrations above 86%, or white fuming nitric acid at concentrations above 95%. Nitric acid is the primary reagent used for nitration –

441-527: A conventional aircraft and then burn its wings for fuel as it reached the upper atmosphere and no longer needed them. In 1921, he presented his material to the Association of Inventors (AIIZ), where he met and discussed space travel with V.I. Lenin , who was attending the conference. In 1924, he published it in the journal of Technology and Life (Tekhnika i Zhizn). 1924 was a particularly active year for Zander. The year before, Hermann Oberth had published

504-436: A density of 1.50 g/cm . This grade is often used in the explosives industry. It is not as volatile nor as corrosive as the anhydrous acid and has the approximate concentration of 21.4 M. Red fuming nitric acid , or RFNA, contains substantial quantities of dissolved nitrogen dioxide ( NO 2 ) leaving the solution with a reddish-brown color. Due to the dissolved nitrogen dioxide, the density of red fuming nitric acid

567-567: A flight to Mars. Mars held a special fascination for Zander, and "Forward to Mars!" (Вперед, на Марс!) became his famous motto. He graduated with his engineering degree in 1914, moved to Moscow in 1915. He worked at the "Provodnik" rubber plant, then in 1919 worked at Aircraft Factory No. 4 ("Motor"). In 1923, he was married to A.F. Milyukova, and they had a daughter named Astra and a son named Mercury. Mercury died of scarlet fever in 1929. After several years of unemployment and intensive research on rocketry and space travel, in 1926, Zander began work at

630-408: A means of spacecraft propulsion, although Johannes Kepler had suggested a solar wind sail in the 17th century. In 1925 Zander presented a paper, "Problems of flight by jet propulsion: interplanetary flights," in which he suggested that a spacecraft traveling between two planets could be accelerated at the beginning of its trajectory and decelerated at the end of its trajectory by using the gravity of

693-613: A merger, which was supported by the Deputy People's Commissar for the Army and Navy, Marshall Mikhail Tukhachevsky . This resulted in a memorandum to the effect that GIRD and GDL should be combined, and the result was the Reactive Scientific Research Institute (RNII), founded on 21 September 1933. For their contribution to spaceflight the following GIRD personnel have craters on the far side of

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756-429: A mixture of concentrated nitric acid and hydrochloric acid . However, some less noble metals ( Ag , Cu , ...) present in some gold alloys relatively poor in gold such as colored gold can be easily oxidized and dissolved by nitric acid, leading to colour changes of the gold-alloy surface. Nitric acid is used as a cheap means in jewelry shops to quickly spot low-gold alloys (< 14 karats ) and to rapidly assess

819-549: A palm fibre and attach a glass receiver to it. Then invert the apparatus and heat the upper portion (i.e. the flask containing the mixture) with a gentle fire. There will flow down by reason of the heat an oil like cow's butter. Nitric acid is also found in post-1300 works falsely attributed to Albert the Great and Ramon Llull (both 13th century). These works describe the distillation of a mixture containing niter and green vitriol , which they call "eau forte" (aqua fortis). In

882-622: A rocketry club at the airforce academy, he founded the Society for Studies of Interplanetary Travel . In an early publication, they would be the first to suggest using the Earth's atmosphere as a way of braking a re-entering spacecraft. The same year, Zander lodged a patent in Moscow for a winged rocket that he believed would be suitable for interplanetary flight, and in October gave a lecture to

945-479: A stream of electric sparks through moist air . In 1806, Humphry Davy reported the results of extensive distilled water electrolysis experiments concluding that nitric acid was produced at the anode from dissolved atmospheric nitrogen gas. He used a high voltage battery and non-reactive electrodes and vessels such as gold electrode cones that doubled as vessels bridged by damp asbestos. The industrial production of nitric acid from atmospheric air began in 1905 with

1008-532: A young aircraft engineer Sergey Korolev , who would later become the de facto head of the Soviet space programme. In 1930 while working as a lead engineer on the Tupolev TB-3 heavy bomber he became interested in the possibilities of liquid-fueled rocket engines to propel airplanes. This led to contact with Tsander, and sparked his interest in space exploration and rocketry. In May 1932, Sergey Korolev replaced

1071-481: Is 0.76 cP. As it decomposes to NO 2 and water, it obtains a yellow tint. It boils at 83 °C (181 °F). It is usually stored in a glass shatterproof amber bottle with twice the volume of head space to allow for pressure build up, but even with those precautions the bottle must be vented monthly to release pressure. The two terminal N–O bonds are nearly equivalent and relatively short, at 1.20 and 1.21 Å. This can be explained by theories of resonance ;

1134-462: Is for the production of fertilizers . Nitric acid is neutralized with ammonia to give ammonium nitrate . This application consumes 75–80% of the 26 million tonnes produced annually (1987). The other main applications are for the production of explosives, nylon precursors, and specialty organic compounds. In organic synthesis , industrial and otherwise, the nitro group is a versatile functional group . A mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids introduces

1197-529: Is generally believed to go back to 13th-century European alchemy . The conventional view is that nitric acid was first described in pseudo-Geber 's De inventione veritatis ("On the Discovery of Truth", after c.  1300 ). However, according to Eric John Holmyard and Ahmad Y. al-Hassan , the nitric acid also occurs in various earlier Arabic works such as the Ṣundūq al-ḥikma ("Chest of Wisdom") attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan (8th century) or

1260-420: Is lower at 1.490 g/cm . An inhibited fuming nitric acid, either white inhibited fuming nitric acid (IWFNA), or red inhibited fuming nitric acid (IRFNA), can be made by the addition of 0.6 to 0.7% hydrogen fluoride (HF). This fluoride is added for corrosion resistance in metal tanks. The fluoride creates a metal fluoride layer that protects the metal. White fuming nitric acid, pure nitric acid or WFNA,

1323-495: Is occasionally seen, with concentrated nitric acid specified as 42  Baumé . Nitric acid is subject to thermal or light decomposition and for this reason it was often stored in brown glass bottles: This reaction may give rise to some non-negligible variations in the vapor pressure above the liquid because the nitrogen oxides produced dissolve partly or completely in the acid. The nitrogen dioxide ( NO 2 ) and/or dinitrogen tetroxide ( N 2 O 4 ) remains dissolved in

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1386-430: Is the proper conditions under which anhydrous ammonia burns to nitric oxide (NO) instead of dinitrogen ( N 2 ). The nitric oxide is then oxidized, often with atmospheric oxygen , to nitrogen dioxide ( NO 2 ): The dioxide then disproportionates in water to nitric acid and the nitric oxide feedstock: The net reaction is maximal oxidation of ammonia: Dissolved nitrogen oxides are either stripped (in

1449-475: Is very close to anhydrous nitric acid. It is available as 99.9% nitric acid by assay, or about 24  molar . One specification for white fuming nitric acid is that it has a maximum of 2% water and a maximum of 0.5% dissolved NO 2 . Anhydrous nitric acid is a colorless, low- viscosity (mobile) liquid with a density of 1.512–3 g/cm that solidifies at −42 °C (−44 °F) to form white crystals. Its dynamic viscosity under standard conditions

1512-509: The Taʿwīdh al-Ḥākim attributed to the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985–1021). The recipe in the Ṣundūq al-ḥikma attributed to Jabir has been translated as follows: Take five parts of pure flowers of nitre , three parts of Cyprus vitriol and two parts of Yemen alum . Powder them well, separately, until they are like dust and then place them in a flask. Plug the latter with

1575-483: The Birkeland–Eyde process , also known as the arc process. This process is based upon the oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen by atmospheric oxygen to nitric oxide with a very high temperature electric arc. Yields of up to approximately 4–5% nitric oxide were obtained at 3000 °C, and less at lower temperatures. The nitric oxide was cooled and oxidized by the remaining atmospheric oxygen to nitrogen dioxide, and this

1638-467: The Moscow Institute on the possibility of reaching Mars by rocket. During questioning after the lecture, he summarised the importance of reaching this planet in particular: "because it has an atmosphere and the capacity to support life. Mars is also known as 'the red star' and this is the emblem of our grand Soviet army." Around this time, Zander became the first to suggest the solar sail as

1701-518: The 17th century, Johann Rudolf Glauber devised a process to obtain nitric acid by distilling potassium nitrate with sulfuric acid. In 1776 Antoine Lavoisier cited Joseph Priestley 's work to point out that it can be converted from nitric oxide (which he calls "nitrous air"), "combined with an approximately equal volume of the purest part of common air, and with a considerable quantity of water." In 1785 Henry Cavendish determined its precise composition and showed that it could be synthesized by passing

1764-598: The Central Design Bureau of Aviation, and in 1930 worked at the Central Institute of Aviation Motor Construction (TsIAM). In 1908, he made notes about the problems of interplanetary travel in which he addressed issues such as life support and became the first to suggest growing plants in greenhouses aboard a spacecraft. In 1911, he published plans for a spacecraft built using combustible alloys of aluminum in its structure that would take off like

1827-741: The GIRD-9, on 17 August 1933, which reached an altitude of 400 metres (1,300 ft). In January 1933 Tsander began development of the GIRD-X rocket (Note: "X" is the Roman numeral 10). It was originally to use a metallic propellant, but after various metals had been tested without success it was designed without a metallic propellant, and was powered by the Project 10 engine which was first bench tested in March 1933. This design burned liquid oxygen and gasoline and

1890-687: The Moon named after them; S. P. Korolev , F. A. Tsander and Mikhail Tikhonravov . In 1962 the names GDL , GIRD and RNII were assigned to crater chains on the far side of the Moon. 55°46′09″N 37°38′46″E  /  55.7692°N 37.6461°E  / 55.7692; 37.6461 Friedrich Zander Georg Arthur Constantin Friedrich Zander (also Tsander , Russian : Фри́дрих Арту́рович Ца́ндер , tr. Fridrikh Arturovich Tsander ; Latvian : Frīdrihs Canders , 23 August [ O.S. 11 August] 1887 – 28 March 1933),

1953-556: The Moscow Aviation Institute during this time. In 1931, Zander was a founding member of GIRD (Group for the Study of Reactive Motion) (Группа изучения реактивного движения (ГИРД)) in Moscow . As head of brigade #1, Zander worked on the OR-2 (GIRD-02) rocket engine, to power the "216" winged cruise missile. He also worked on the engine and rocket GIRD-10, which flew successfully on 25 November 1933. Zander had designed

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2016-498: The N–OH single bond. Nitric acid is normally considered to be a strong acid at ambient temperatures. There is some disagreement over the value of the acid dissociation constant, though the p K a value is usually reported as less than −1. This means that the nitric acid in diluted solution is fully dissociated except in extremely acidic solutions. The p K a value rises to 1 at a temperature of 250 °C. Nitric acid can act as

2079-587: The acid, but the last plant in the United States ceased using that process in 2012. More recently, electrochemical means have been developed to produce anhydrous acid from concentrated nitric acid feedstock. Laboratory-scale nitric acid syntheses abound. Most take inspiration from the industrial techniques. A wide variety of nitrate salts metathesize with sulfuric acid ( H 2 SO 4 ) — for example, sodium nitrate : Distillation at nitric acid's 83 °C boiling point then separates

2142-439: The addition of a nitro group , typically to an organic molecule . While some resulting nitro compounds are shock- and thermally-sensitive explosives , a few are stable enough to be used in munitions and demolition, while others are still more stable and used as synthetic dyes and medicines (e.g metronidazole ). Nitric acid is also commonly used as a strong oxidizing agent . The discovery of mineral acids such as nitric acid

2205-560: The ailing Tsander as the head of GIRD. At this time the group was organized as four brigades to further optimise their efforts, as follows: Under Korolev's leadership GIRD began to attract additional funding from the Red Army 's Directorate of Military Inventions, which enabled GIRD to obtain better equipment and pay personnel, which by 1933 totaled approximately 60 personnel. Tsander died unexpectedly from an illness on March 28, 1933, and his engineer, Leonid Konstantinovich Korneev , became

2268-637: The byproducts removed to isolate the desired product. Reaction with non-metallic elements, with the exceptions of nitrogen, oxygen, noble gases , silicon , and halogens other than iodine, usually oxidizes them to their highest oxidation states as acids with the formation of nitrogen dioxide for concentrated acid and nitric oxide for dilute acid. Concentrated nitric acid oxidizes I 2 , P 4 , and S 8 into HIO 3 , H 3 PO 4 , and H 2 SO 4 , respectively. Although it reacts with graphite and amorphous carbon, it does not react with diamond; it can separate diamond from

2331-420: The case of white fuming nitric acid) or remain in solution to form red fuming nitric acid . Commercial grade nitric acid solutions are usually between 52% and 68% nitric acid by mass, the maximum distillable concentration . Further dehydration to 98% can be achieved with concentrated H 2 SO 4 . Historically, higher acid concentrations were also produced by dissolving additional nitrogen dioxide in

2394-565: The color turns orange. These color changes are caused by nitrated aromatic rings in the protein. Xanthoproteic acid is formed when the acid contacts epithelial cells . Respective local skin color changes are indicative of inadequate safety precautions when handling nitric acid. Industrial nitric acid production uses the Ostwald process . The combined Ostwald and Haber processes are extremely efficient, requiring only air and natural gas feedstocks . The Ostwald process' technical innovation

2457-448: The concentrated acid forms a metal-oxide layer that protects the bulk of the metal from further oxidation. The formation of this protective layer is called passivation . Typical passivation concentrations range from 20% to 50% by volume. Metals that are passivated by concentrated nitric acid are iron , cobalt , chromium , nickel , and aluminium . Being a powerful oxidizing acid , nitric acid reacts with many organic materials, and

2520-450: The engine walls, the compressed oxygen entered the top end of the chamber in a swirling pattern. Fuel was injected through an atomizer at the center, to create efficient mixing and combustion. Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov , who would later supervise the design of Sputnik I and the Luna programme , headed GIRD's 2nd Brigade, was responsible for the first Hybrid-propellant rocket launch,

2583-419: The formation of nitrogen dioxide ( NO 2 ). However, the powerful oxidizing properties of nitric acid are thermodynamic in nature, but sometimes its oxidation reactions are rather kinetically non-favored. The presence of small amounts of nitrous acid ( HNO 2 ) greatly increases the rate of reaction. Although chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), and aluminium (Al) readily dissolve in dilute nitric acid,

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2646-430: The gold purity. Being a powerful oxidizing agent, nitric acid reacts with many non-metallic compounds, sometimes explosively. Depending on the acid concentration, temperature and the reducing agent involved, the end products can be variable. Reaction takes place with all metals except the noble metals series and certain alloys . As a general rule, oxidizing reactions occur primarily with the concentrated acid, favoring

2709-417: The graphite that it oxidizes. Nitric acid reacts with proteins to form yellow nitrated products. This reaction is known as the xanthoproteic reaction . This test is carried out by adding concentrated nitric acid to the substance being tested, and then heating the mixture. If proteins that contain amino acids with aromatic rings are present, the mixture turns yellow. Upon adding a base such as ammonia ,

2772-423: The influential theoretical work " Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen " ("The rocket to interplanetary space"), which in turn introduced Zander and other Russian enthusiasts to the ground breaking work by Robert Goddard ("A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" published in 1919). Zander took advantage of this by promoting Tsiolkovsky's work, and developing it further. Together with Vladimir Vetchinkin and members of

2835-486: The later Aviavnito rocket, powered by Leonid Dushkin's 12-K engine and fueled by liquid oxygen and alcohol, which was first launched in 1936 and achieved an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 1937. By 1931 there were two Soviet organisations focusing on rocket technology; GIRD and the Leningrad based Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL). Informal contact between the two group were maintained and discussions began of

2898-422: The metal. Dilute nitric acid behaves as a typical acid in its reaction with most metals. Magnesium , manganese , and zinc liberate H 2 : Nitric acid can oxidize non-active metals such as copper and silver . With these non-active or less electropositive metals the products depend on temperature and the acid concentration. For example, copper reacts with dilute nitric acid at ambient temperatures with

2961-548: The new leader of his Brigade. An exact copy of the GIRD-X can be found on Tsander's headstone in Kislovodsk. Tsander had begun work on the OR-1 experimental engine in 1929 while working at the Central Institute for Aircraft Motor Construction; this subsequently became GIRD Project 01. It ran on compressed air and gasoline and Tsander used it to investigate high-energy fuels including powdered metals mixed with gasoline. The chamber

3024-427: The nitric acid coloring it yellow or even red at higher temperatures. While the pure acid tends to give off white fumes when exposed to air, acid with dissolved nitrogen dioxide gives off reddish-brown vapors, leading to the common names "red fuming nitric acid" and "white fuming nitric acid". Nitrogen oxides ( NO x ) are soluble in nitric acid. Commercial-grade fuming nitric acid contains 98% HNO 3 and has

3087-526: The power supplied was around 10 volts. Production from one deposit was 800 tons per year. Once the Haber process for the efficient production of ammonia was introduced in 1913, nitric acid production from ammonia using the Ostwald process overtook production from the Birkeland–Eyde process. This method of production is still in use today. Commercially available nitric acid is an azeotrope with water at

3150-456: The reactions may be explosive. The hydroxyl group will typically strip a hydrogen from the organic molecule to form water, and the remaining nitro group takes the hydrogen's place. Nitration of organic compounds with nitric acid is the primary method of synthesis of many common explosives, such as nitroglycerin and trinitrotoluene (TNT). As very many less stable byproducts are possible, these reactions must be carefully thermally controlled, and

3213-437: The rocket, but did not live to see it fly, having died of typhus in March of that year in the city of Kislovodsk . Nitric acid Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula H N O 3 . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid . The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen . Most commercially available nitric acid has

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3276-472: The solid metal-salt residue. The resulting acid solution is the 68.5% azeotrope, and can be further concentrated (as in industry) with either sulfuric acid or magnesium nitrate . Alternatively, thermal decomposition of copper(II) nitrate gives nitrogen dioxide and oxygen gases; these are then passed through water or hydrogen peroxide as in the Ostwald process: The main industrial use of nitric acid

3339-452: The two major canonical forms show some double bond character in these two bonds, causing them to be shorter than N–O single bonds . The third N–O bond is elongated because its O atom is bonded to H atom, with a bond length of 1.41 Å in the gas phase. The molecule is slightly aplanar (the NO 2 and NOH planes are tilted away from each other by 2°) and there is restricted rotation about

3402-481: The two planets' moons — a method known as gravity assist . Zander showed his deep understanding of the physics behind the concept and he foresaw the advantage it could play for interplanetary travels, with a vision far ahead of his contemporaries. In 1929–1930, while at the IAM, Zander worked on his first engine, OR-1, which ran on compressed air and gasoline and was based on a modified blowtorch. He also taught courses at

3465-657: Was a Baltic German pioneer of rocketry and spaceflight in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union . He designed the first liquid-fueled rocket to be launched in the Soviet Union, GIRD -X, and made many important theoretical contributions to the road to space. Zander was born in Riga , Russian Empire, into a Baltic German commoner family. His father Arthur Georg Zander was a doctor, but Friedrich Zander

3528-635: Was anticipated that it could carry a 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) payload to an altitude of 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi). The GIRD X rocket was launched on 25 November 1933 and flew to a height of 80 meters. Tikhonravov was also responsible for the Project 05 rocket in a joint effort with the Gas Dynamics Lab (GDL) in Leningrad. Project 05 used the ORM-50 engine developed by Valentin Glushko , which

3591-408: Was cooled regeneratively by air entering at the nozzle end and also by water circulating through a coil. Project 02, the OR-2 engine, was designed for Korolev's RP-1 rocket-powered glider. It burned oxygen and gasoline, and its nozzle was made from heat-resistant graphite. The engine was later modified to burn alcohol, which generated less heat than gasoline, and its thrust was increased. After cooling

3654-601: Was fascinated by other natural sciences. Zander was enrolled in the Riga urban technical high school in 1898, for a seven-year program in which he was a top student. During this time, he became acquainted with the work of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and space travel became his foremost scientific passion. While studying engineering at the Riga Polytechnic Institute , he carried out trajectory calculations for

3717-514: Was fuelled by nitric acid and kerosene with its nozzle regeneratively cooled by the flow of acid. First tested in November 1933, the ORM-50 predated Eugen Sänger 's regeneratively cooled engine, which was not tested in Austria until May 1934. The 05 rocket contained four long tanks, enclosed in a body with a four-lobed cross section. It was never completed, but its design formed the basis of

3780-403: Was one of the first engines to be regeneratively cooled by the liquid oxygen, which flowed around the inner wall of the combustion chamber before entering it. Problems with burn-through during testing prompted a switch from gasoline to less energetic alcohol. The final missile, 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) long by 140 millimetres (5.5 in) in diameter, had a mass of 30 kilograms (66 lb), and it

3843-576: Was provided by Osoaviakhim however it was insufficient to cover production costs. In April 1932 Tsander began working full time for GIRD, however most other personnel worked at night or in their spare time. The personnel jokingly referred to GIRD as “Gruppa inzhenerov, rabotayushchaya darom” (group of engineers working for nothing). Local GIRDs also developed in other cities, particularly Leningrad, but also in Kharkiv, Baku, Tiflis, Arkhangelsk, Novocherkassk and Bryansk. A key contributor to GIRD came from

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3906-406: Was rapidly displaced by the Ostwald process once cheap ammonia became available. Another early production method was invented by French engineer Albert Nodon around 1913. His method produced nitric acid from electrolysis of calcium nitrate converted by bacteria from nitrogenous matter in peat bogs. An earthenware pot surrounded by limestone was sunk into the peat and staked with tarred lumber to make

3969-407: Was subsequently absorbed in water in a series of packed column or plate column absorption towers to produce dilute nitric acid. The first towers bubbled the nitrogen dioxide through water and non-reactive quartz fragments. About 20% of the produced oxides of nitrogen remained unreacted so the final towers contained an alkali solution to neutralize the rest. The process was very energy intensive and

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