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I have this bottle of hydrochloric acid solution. Although I do not know its concentration but I know it is quite concentrated. Every time I open it the fumes would get to all the places.

I have an idea of letting the bottle sit in cold water for a while before opening it. Would this reduce the amount of acid vaporizing? What are some other ways to do this?

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    $\begingroup$ Well, yeah, it could work... to some extent, but using fridge seems simpler. It's natural for concentrated HCl to fume, though, so use fume hood either way. $\endgroup$
    – Mithoron
    Commented Aug 11, 2023 at 15:34
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    $\begingroup$ SAFETY - Do NOT put a bottle of HCl in your home fridge. I wouldn't store it in a lab fridge either. The out gassing of HCl will corrode any metal that it comes in contact with. The sophisticated solution is a vented acid supply cabinet. $\endgroup$
    – MaxW
    Commented Aug 11, 2023 at 17:22
  • $\begingroup$ Maybe a condensing column attached above the bottle? $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 15, 2023 at 3:14

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HCl is very volatile, so even when reducing temperature will reduce it's vapor pressure I do not think it is enough to avoid the fumes. What we do in our lab is to use an acid dispenser. It is similar to the one in the picture below, although not so sophisticated. It works by suction and it will dispense the acid in the order of milliliters, through a small hole thus reducing the amount of fumes. This will allow you to control it better.

If you require to handle large amounts and you have no other option but to pour it and open the original bottle, then you have to use a hood. You will also require the hood to transfer the acid to the dispensing bottle.

enter image description here

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