Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. (context organic compound English) A clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH, formed by the oxidation of ethanol; it is used as a solvent and has very many industrial applications; it is the major acidic component of vinegar.
WordNet
n. a colorless pungent liquid widely used in manufacturing plastics and pharmaceuticals [syn: ethanoic acid]
Wikipedia
This page provides supplementary chemical data on acetic acid.
Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is a colourless liquid organic compound with the chemical formula CHCOOH (also written as CHCOH or CHO). When undiluted, it is sometimes called glacial acetic acid. Vinegar is roughly 3–9% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component of vinegar apart from water. Acetic acid has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell. In addition to household vinegar, it is mainly produced as a precursor to polyvinyl acetate and cellulose acetate. Although it is classified as a weak acid, concentrated acetic acid is corrosive and can attack the skin.
Acetic acid is the second simplest carboxylic acid (after formic acid) and consists of two small functional groups, an acetyl group (sometimes symbolized as Ac) and a hydroxyl group (AcOH); it can also be viewed as a methyl group and a carboxyl group linked. It is an important chemical reagent and industrial chemical, used primarily in the production of cellulose acetate for photographic film, polyvinyl acetate for wood glue, and synthetic fibres and fabrics. In households, diluted acetic acid is often used in descaling agents. In the food industry, acetic acid is controlled by the food additive code E260 as an acidity regulator and as a condiment. As a food additive it is approved for usage in many countries, including Canada, the European Union, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. In biochemistry, the acetyl group, derived from acetic acid, is fundamental to all forms of life. When bound to coenzyme A, it is central to the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.
The global demand for acetic acid is about 6.5 million metric tons per year (Mt/a), of which approximately 1.5 Mt/a is met by recycling; the remainder is manufactured from petrochemical feedstock. As a chemical reagent, biological sources of acetic acid are of interest, but generally cannot compete economically. Vinegar is mostly dilute acetic acid, often produced by fermentation and subsequent oxidation of ethanol.
Usage examples of "acetic acid".
The best-known of these auxins is a compound called indolyl-^-acetic acid, commonly abbreviated 7AA.
Macerate in a close glass vessel for seven days, then express the liquor, filter, and add to the filtered product alcohol, or concentrated acetic acid, 1 fluid ounce.
Windborne yeasts volunteer in the mash, converting a portion of the alcohol to acetic acid, or vinegar.
Alcohol and acetic acid vaporize at approximately the same temperature, and when the acid hits the lead in the solder that is used to join seams, and runs through the lead-filled car and truck radiators that the big stills use as condensers, it dissolves some of it and forms lead acetate, or lead salts.
Next morning I walked out, and Jack phoned Mandarin from the call box that still smelt of piss and acetic acid.
The seeds themselves contain in the cotyledons and endosperm from 30 to 40 per cent of a fixed oil, of a light yellow colour, and about 25 per cent proteids, together with wax, resin, sugar, phosphates, acetic acid, and a small quantity of the glucoside Linamarin.
EDTA vacuum blood-collection tubes, acetic acid, orthotolidine, luminol reagent, Magna-Brush, Ruhemann’.
EDTA vacuum blood-collection tubes, acetic acid, orthotolidine, luminol reagent, Magna-Brush, Ruhemann's purple phenomenon.