The important uses of nitric acid are as follows:
1) Nitric acid plays a significant role in the manufacture of various products such as:
- Explosives like trinitrotoluene (T.N.T.) nitro glycerine, gun cotton, ammonal etc.
- Fertilizers such as calcium nitrate, ammonium nitrate etc.
- Nitrate salts such as calcium nitrate, silver nitrate, ammonium nitrate.
- Dyes, perfumes, drugs etc. from coal tar products.
- Sulphuric acid by Lead Chamber process.
2) It is used in the purification of silver, gold, platinum etc.
3) Nitric acid is used in etching designs on copper, brass, bronze ware etc.
4) It is used to prepare "aqua regia" to dissolve the noble elements.
5) It is used as a laboratory reagent.
Remember :
Ammonal is a mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder.
The uses of nitric acid are summarized in figure 6.18.
