The
chemical substancehydrochloric acid is the
aqueous (
water-based)
solution of
hydrogen chloride (
HCl) gas. It is a
strong acid, the major component of
gastric acid and of wide industrial use. As a highly
corrosiveliquid, hydrochloric acid should be handled only with appropriate
safety precautions.
Hydrochloric acid, ormuriatic acid by its historical but still occasionally used name, has been an important and frequently used chemical from early history, and was discovered by thealchemistJābir ibn Hayyān around800. It was used throughout theMiddle Ages by alchemists in the quest for thephilosopher's stone, and later by several Europeanscientists includingGlauber,Priestley, andDavy, to help establish modern chemical knowledge.
During theIndustrial Revolution, it became an important industrial chemical for many applications, including the large scale production oforganic compounds such asvinyl chloride forPVCplastic andMDI/TDI forpolyurethane and smaller scale applications, such as production ofgelatin and otheringredients in food, andleather processing. Currently, production is approximately 20 million metrictonnes annually (20 Mt/year) of HCl gas.
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