12-09-2007, 11:43 AM
Who cares what it smells like - when you have slaves to do all that dirty work!
Wasn't is Vespasian who said: 'Money doesn't smell' when his son (Titus, I think) complained that they were charging people to use the public toilets!
I think that the pH of a 1M solution of ethanoic acid is around 5 - as you say, that shouldn't be a problem w.r.t. hydrolysis. I doubt that the vinegar they were working with would have been anywhere near to 1M, anyway.
Urine in pots? Ohhh yes! Amongst other things they used it to make ammonium alum, used in the dye industry to 'fix' colours (such as indigo and madder) onto textiles.
Caratacus
(Mike Thomas)
Wasn't is Vespasian who said: 'Money doesn't smell' when his son (Titus, I think) complained that they were charging people to use the public toilets!
I think that the pH of a 1M solution of ethanoic acid is around 5 - as you say, that shouldn't be a problem w.r.t. hydrolysis. I doubt that the vinegar they were working with would have been anywhere near to 1M, anyway.
Urine in pots? Ohhh yes! Amongst other things they used it to make ammonium alum, used in the dye industry to 'fix' colours (such as indigo and madder) onto textiles.
Caratacus
(Mike Thomas)
visne scire quod credam? credo orbes volantes exstare.
