Liquid H2O2

1. Characteristics of H2O2

Hydrogen peroxide with the chemical formula H2O2 is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water, has strong oxidizing properties, and is therefore a powerful bleaching and oxidizing agent, and as a propellant in rockets.

2. Applications

- In households:

At very low concentrations (less than 5%) it is commonly used to bleach human hair. At higher concentrations it can burn skin on contact. At lower concentrations (3%), it is used in medical field to wash wounds and remove dead tissue.

Commercial grades hydrogen peroxide, such as 3% concentration solution can be purchased at the pharmacy and used to remove blood stains from clothing or carpets.

- Industrial application:

Used as a bleaching agent : hydrogen peroxide is considered as an environmentally better alternative to chlorine-based bleachers.

Other major industrial uses also include the production of sodium percarbonate and sodium perborate which are used as mild detergents for laundry (ironing). It is also used in the production of certain organic peroxides such as dibenzoyl peroxide, which can be used as a free radical in polymerizations and in other chemical reactions.

It is also used to produce epoxides such as propylene oxide.

- Medical usage:

H2O2 solutions have been used as disinfectant for many years. Many hospitals, doctors and dentists use it to sterilize, clean and treat everything from floors to root canal surgeries.

Food grade hydrogen peroxide offer medicinal or therapeutic values such as in hydrogen peroxide therapy. Advocates of this product claim that it can be diluted and used to treat AIDS, cancer and many other diseases.

3. Production

Nowadays, hydrogen peroxide is produced almost exclusively by the autoxidation of 2-ethyl-9,10-dihydroanthracene to 2-ethylanthraquinone and hydrogen peroxide using oxygen from the air. The anthraquinone derivative is then extracted from the mixture and reduced back to the dihydroxy compound using hydrogen gas with a metal catalyst.

4. Dangers

Hydrogen peroxide vapor can detonate above 70°C, so storing its solutions and vapors in cool conditions is key. The distillation of hydrogen peroxide at normal pressure is also very dangerous. Hydrogen peroxide vapor can produce explosive sensitizers by contact with hydrocarbons such as grease. Hazardous reactions ranging from ignition to explosion have been reported to occur with alcohols, ketones, carboxylic acids (specifically acetic acid), amines and phosphorus.

Hydrogen peroxide, if poured onto fabric (or other flammable substances) will evaporate water until the concentration reaches a high enough level that the material will ignite. Leather products generally contain metallic iron from the tanning process and typically catch fire very quickly.

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