Sodium Acetate

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How to Make Sodium Acetate From Household Ingredients by degroof on October 8, 2007

Table of Contents intro: How to Make Sodium Acetate From Household Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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step 1: Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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step 2: Chemical Reaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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step 3: Boiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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step 4: Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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step 5: Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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step 6: Grinding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Sodium-Acetate/

intro: How to Make Sodium Acetate From Household Ingredients Sodium acetate is the sodium salt of acetic acid. It's also the primary flavoring in salt and vinegar potato chips. This Instructable will show how to make sodium acetate using common household ingredients. No special equipment of measuring is required. You can pretty much eyeball the whole process. Note: This is a bit smelly and can irritate the eyes and skin. This process is not sufficient to produce "hot ice". Too many contaminants. If you want to get a purified form for use in "hot ice" experiments, there's an Instructable by indigoandblack that should help. It's more involved but much more likely to get the results you want. Standard Disclaimer: Not liable for damages due to use or misuse. No warranties expressed or implied. For educational purposes only. Safety goggles may be required during use. Void where prohibited. Your mileage may vary. Unauthorized personnel only. Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

step 1: Materials You'll need: - sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) - acetic acid (vinegar) - microwavable glass or ceramic containers - coffee filters - spoon

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sodium-Acetate/

step 2: Chemical Reaction Put some baking soda in one of the containers. I used a heaping spoonful in a measuring cup. Add vinegar very slowly. Too much and the container will overflow with foam. Add a little, wait for the foaming to subside, add a little more. Keep adding vinegar a little at a time, stirring the mixture. Stop adding vinegar once the mixture stops bubbling, even with stirring. What you should have now is a solution of sodium acetate in water. I ended up with the measuring cup nearly full of solution.

step 3: Boiling Microwave the solution to boil off the water. It took me about 20 minutes on High. I did this in three 5-minute segments, followed by a series of 1-minute segments. Keep boiling it down until you start to hear sizzling and popping sounds. It should still be a liquid, though. If you end up with a foul-smelling yellow lump, you've gone too far. The resulting volume should be about 1/10 the original solution. Note: The container will be very hot.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sodium-Acetate/

step 4: Cooling At this point, you should have a super-saturated solution of sodium acetate. If you've got it right, blowing across the surface will cause crystals to form. Let this cool to room temperature. It should form a translucent gel.

step 5: Drying Scrape up the gel and any stray crystals and transfer this to a small bowl lined with a coffee filter. The filter will absorb some of the remaining water. It helps the drying process if you break up the gel into smaller pieces.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sodium-Acetate/

step 6: Grinding Break up the pieces into powder using the bowl of a spoon. If the powder seems a bit sticky, put it on another coffee filter for a while to dry out. At this point, you're pretty much done. There might still be some moisture in the powder but it should be minimal.

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How to Fake ice in no Demonstrate a Supersaturated time by Solution (video) DrCoolSanta by kentchemistry.com

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Comments 50 comments Add Comment

szechuan53 says:

view all 130 comments Jul 6, 2008. 5:27 PM REPLY

extraction of sodium metal from sodium acetate? then again, i don't need it. 14 years old, got sodium metal 4 b-day :v)

DaPaulness332 says:

Sep 14, 2008. 1:55 AM REPLY

wow this is the record for most comments on a comment on a comment

szechuan53 says:

Sep 17, 2008. 5:20 PM REPLY

lets break it.

twenglish1 says:

Aug 12, 2008. 6:42 PM REPLY

what do you need sodium metal for PS: dont get it wet and im 14 too

szechuan53 says:

Aug 18, 2008. 3:31 PM REPLY

i have my reasons. hehehe...

twenglish1 says:

Aug 18, 2008. 7:06 PM REPLY

have fun with it PS again: DON'T GET IT WET!!!

emuman4evr says:

Sep 10, 2008. 12:51 PM REPLY

Why?

twenglish1 says:

Sep 10, 2008. 1:18 PM REPLY

it bursts into flames

szechuan53 says:

Aug 23, 2008. 7:06 PM REPLY

dude, thats way too general. if you get it wet with mineral oil, nothing happens. H2 O, D2 O, or T2 O, however, won't make the good times roll.

Lamppis says: Wtf is T2O?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sodium-Acetate/

Sep 1, 2008. 9:12 AM REPLY

szechuan53 says:

Sep 2, 2008. 1:36 PM REPLY H=hydrogen D=deuterium T=tritium the last two are isotopes of the former. tritium is radioactive, so when it replaces normal hydrogen in a water molecule, it basically makes radioactive water.

Lamppis says:

Sep 2, 2008. 11:00 PM REPLY

3H2O

twenglish1 says:

Sep 2, 2008. 1:51 PM REPLY tritium is part of fusion reaction right?? and deuterium is also called heavy hydrogen, which is also part of a fusion reaction right??

szechuan53 says:

Sep 4, 2008. 2:00 PM REPLY yes, and deuterium oxide is also known as heavy water. some occurs naturally, i believe up to 10% in certain water bodies.

twenglish1 says:

Sep 4, 2008. 2:20 PM REPLY i knew about the fusion reactions cause i was planning on building a Fusor but i don't have the money now

twenglish1 says:

Aug 23, 2008. 8:13 PM REPLY

when i said dont get it wet i mean't with water

shammallamaman says:

Aug 12, 2008. 7:20 PM REPLY

OMFG I AM 14 TOOOO jk =D

twenglish1 says:

Aug 12, 2008. 8:05 PM REPLY

what do you mean your kidding it says you are on your profile

shammallamaman says:

Aug 12, 2008. 8:46 PM REPLY

i mean, i am kidding about the whole "OMG" part, i am 14 though

twenglish1 says:

Aug 12, 2008. 9:37 PM REPLY

oh i feel stupid now that i read it its kinda obvious

shammallamaman says:

Aug 13, 2008. 9:03 PM REPLY

lol, it's ok, everyone has their moments

twenglish1 says:

Aug 13, 2008. 10:47 PM REPLY

yah but some (me) have them more often than others

shammallamaman says:

Aug 14, 2008. 5:56 PM REPLY

lol, i know what that is like

twenglish1 says: yah

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sodium-Acetate/

Aug 14, 2008. 7:56 PM REPLY

cool323 says:

Sep 6, 2008. 4:38 PM REPLY

how long it took you

7ofspades says:

Aug 31, 2008. 6:19 PM REPLY

hey how much sodium bicarbonate should i mix with the vinegar?

wildr0se11 says:

Aug 17, 2008. 11:47 AM REPLY So, just wondering...I was thinking of making this on a stove with a vent to suck the fumes, but this is where we make food everyday and eat it ourselves. Just in case...this bad idea? I don't want little microscopic chemicals in everything going in my mouth. Intelligent insight?

babez104 says:

Jul 25, 2008. 12:39 PM REPLY

very good. but is really gonna work? can it work without a coffee filter? tell me pronto.

muney211 says:

Aug 8, 2008. 12:29 AM REPLY

it does work whithout cofee filter its for the sodium acetate to dry so u can use a plate something that opens up

13coolguy9 says:

Aug 6, 2008. 5:16 PM REPLY

can u acctaly use the ice?

ilikechemicals says:

Mar 15, 2008. 1:27 PM REPLY well thats cool, but i was just looking at youtube and i was wondering if you add this sodium acetate to almost boiling water and cool it for a while in the fridgerator if it would make "instant ice".

babez104 says:

Jul 25, 2008. 12:52 PM REPLY

that is cool. i saw that video too.

xxakumaxx says:

Jun 6, 2008. 7:10 PM REPLY

all u have to do is touch the "hot ice" with your finger and it will turn into ice. :)

babez104 says:

Jul 25, 2008. 12:51 PM REPLY

that is so cool. i really hope it works.

samhains says:

Jul 14, 2008. 9:11 PM REPLY

All that did was clean my microwave...I got an empty bowl?

octavian234 says:

Jul 11, 2008. 6:40 PM REPLY

are there any other uses for this besides fattening the common man

Dark Solar says:

Mar 9, 2008. 7:32 AM REPLY Hmmm...every bag of salt & vinegar chips I've had lists malic acid as the souring agent. Please point me at a brand that uses sodium acetate.

ChristianAndElizabeth says:

Jun 7, 2008. 4:56 PM REPLY

just make sodium acetate

Dark Solar says:

Jun 8, 2008. 7:49 AM REPLY ? Ummm...that doesn't really follow. Or perhaps it's an issue of cross-purposes. To clarify, my goal is to find Salt-n-Vinegar chips listing sodium acetate in the ingredients with a view toward making a flavor comparison between the aforementioned and Salt-n-Vinegar chips flavored with Malic Acid. Outside of that, there's nothing else that needs said. Further, unless you are Degroof, you've no business answering my request in any fashion. Nothing personal. Please keep your non-pertinent comments to yourself.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sodium-Acetate/

ninjaimasta says:

Jun 18, 2008. 4:00 PM REPLY

whipow! lol to help answer your question, to quote from wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_acetate) "Sodium acetate is the chemical that gives salt and vinegar chips (crisps) their flavor. It may also be added to foods as a preservative" which both lends credit to degroof and means that it is indeed edible to some extent. also, i believe the salt & vinegar "Pom-Bear" type crisps have Sodium Acetate listed as an ingredient but not as a flavouring itself, but as an acidity regulator presumably to help neutralise the tartaric and citric acids.

szechuan53 says:

Jul 6, 2008. 5:28 PM REPLY

aha, you're british

bmxer says:

Jun 28, 2008. 6:45 PM REPLY Okay, i used a little more making soda then you did, but i boiled it down till it was crackling and what-not. When i tried to dry it out, it smelt strongly of vinegar, and didn't even dry overnight. What might i be doing wrong?

indigoandblack says:

Jun 27, 2008. 11:46 AM REPLY

Thanks for the link, degroof! :-)

mikeanator55 says:

Jun 21, 2008. 10:55 AM REPLY

on step 4, is it supposed to be clear?

Father Christmas says:

Jun 22, 2008. 4:55 PM REPLY

that might be why it is clear in the picture. just a guess, but...

linkmaster03 says:

Jun 16, 2008. 7:18 PM REPLY

If you use this to make a heat pack, will it heat back up whenever you shake it? Or will it only heat up once until it is 'dead'?

Trans_Am says:

Oct 8, 2007. 11:48 AM REPLY

Why not boil it over the stove, so you get more even heat, and use less power? (microwave for 20 minutes = Big power bill)

ChristianAndElizabeth says:

Jun 7, 2008. 4:57 PM REPLY

shut up dude....it'll burn the bottom so it'll boil more quickly because the heat only itself and the heat gathering in the pan

CoolKoon says:

Feb 9, 2008. 3:56 PM REPLY For 20 minutes?! The same amount of distilled water would evaporate in less than 5 minutes when using full power (900-1000 W)! (And besides, any water solution has a lower boiling point, like the sodium acetate solution in the instructable)

hartlandguy says: 20 minutes in a 1500 watt microwave at a typical rate of 12 cents per kwh is only 6 cents.

view all 130 comments

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sodium-Acetate/

Oct 17, 2007. 7:00 AM REPLY