zmoney8787,
So I am going to make some nitric by bubbling a reaction of sodium nitrate, HCl, and copper. The results will be weak nitric. So my question is, Can I just do the reaction a second time to make stronger nitric?
This reaction will sort of make nitric acid but the main problem is the chlorides which will also distill over, what you will actually be making by using the HCl and nitrate salt is a form of aqua regia in this reaction with the copper will be (poor mans aqua regia), distilling over chloride gases with the NOx gases you will not distill over nitric acid or even aqua regia, but will just end up being a strong acidic solution of nitrates and chlorides, basically useless for refining.
You will find much better methods for making nitric acid on the forum, search poormans nitric acid recipe, making nitric with this method and careful distilling it will give you a good product you can use for refining and recovery.
http://goldrecovery.us/
I use a process similar to the one you describe to make nitric acid using gold plated copper pins, the products of the process are usable nitric acid, gold foils, and copper sulfate which I crystallize and save, there is no waste, I call it “to kill two birds one rock”.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=kill+two+birds+one+rock+&num=1000&ft=i&as_sitesearch=goldrefiningforum.com&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any
A great web site lots of good information, and fair price on supplys, and the search I use when seraching the forum, Laser Steve's site:
http://goldrecovery.us/forum_search.asp
We use dilute nitric in recovery or to dissolve silver and base metals when parting gold from silver and copper, so not much reason to make a concentrated solution, you can make nitric concentrated 68% if wanted, or you can concentrate dilute nitric up to 68% azeotrope with careful evaporation.
