The key difference between glacial acetic acid and vinegar is that glacial acetic acid is a concentrated form of acetic acid, whereas vinegar is a less concentrated form of acetic acid.
Acetic acid is an organic compound having the chemical formula CH3COOH, and its molar mass is 60 g/mol. The IUPAC name of this compound is ethanoic acid. It comes in different concentrations: low concentrations and high concentrations. The difference between glacial acetic acid and vinegar lies in their acetic acid concentration.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Glacial Acetic Acid
3. What is Vinegar
4. Glacial Acetic Acid vs Vinegar in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Glacial Acetic Acid vs Vinegar
What is Glacial Acetic Acid?
Glacial acetic acid can be described as the concentrated form of acetic acid. Acetic acid is an organic compound having the chemical formula CH3COOH. Therefore, the molar mass of this compound is 60 g/mol, while the IUPAC name of this compound is Ethanoic acid. Moreover, at room temperature, glacial acetic acid is a colorless liquid having a sour taste.
Moreover, glacial acetic acid has a pungent odor, which is similar to the odor of vinegar and has a characteristic sour taste. It is also a weak acid because it dissociates partially in an aqueous solution, releasing acetate anion and a proton. Generally, acetic acid has one dissociable proton per molecule. However, glacial acid is an irritant that is highly corrosive.
We can name glacial acetic acid a carboxylic acid because of the presence of a carboxylic acid group (-COOH). Glacial acetic acid is a simple carboxylic acid; in fact, it is the second simplest carboxylic acid. In the solid state of this substance, the molecules form chains of molecules via hydrogen bonding. However, in the vapor phase of this compound, it forms dimers (two molecules connected to each other via hydrogen bonds). Since liquid glacial acetic acid is a polar protic solvent, it is miscible with many polar and nonpolar solvents.
What is Vinegar?
Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid along with trace compounds, including flavorings. It typically consists of 5 – 8% of acetic acid by volume. Moreover, acetic acid is formed via a double fermentation process in which simple sugars are converted into ethanol in the presence of yeast. It also converts ethanol to acetic acid in the presence of acetic acid bacteria.
There are many different varieties of vinegar, depending on the source materials. It is used in the culinary arts as a flavorful, acidic cooking ingredient as well as in pickling. Moreover, we can use different vinegar types as condiments or garnishes, such as balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar.
When considering the chemistry of vinegar, the conversion of ethanol and oxygen into acetic acid via the following reaction;
CH3CH2OH + O2 → CH3COOH + H2O
Further, there are many types of flavonoids, phenolic acid, and aldehydes in vinegar. These compounds vary from each other according to the source material that is useful in making the vinegar, e.g., orange peel or various fruit juice concentrates.
What is the Difference Between Glacial Acetic Acid and Vinegar?
Acetic acid is an important organic compound having many different uses and applications in different industries. The key difference between glacial acetic acid and vinegar is that glacial acetic acid is a concentrated form of acetic acid, whereas vinegar is a less concentrated form of acetic acid.
The below infographic presents the differences between glacial acetic acid and vinegar in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Glacial Acetic Acid vs Vinegar
The key difference between glacial acetic acid and vinegar lies in their acetic acid concentration. Glacial acetic acid is a concentrated form of acetic acid, whereas vinegar is a less concentrated form of acetic acid.
Reference:
1. “Acetic Acid.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Acetic acid Winchester” (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Raisin vinegar” By Badagnani – Own work (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia