Physical Properties:

Ethanoic or acetic acid has a pungent vinegar odour and sour taste. It is a colourless liquid. It boils at 391K. Its density in liquid form is 1.049 g/cm³.

Application:

Industrial Use

Acetic acid is used in many industrial processes for the production of substrates and it is often used as a chemical reagent for the production of a number of chemical compounds like acetic anhydride, ester, vinyl acetate monomer, vinegar, and many other polymeric materials. It is also used to purify organic compounds as it can be used as a solvent for recrystallization.

Medical Use

Acetic acid has a lot of uses in the medical field. The most important use here is that;
1. It can be used as an antiseptic against pseudomonas, enterococci, streptococci, staphylococci and others.
2. It is also used in cervical cancer screening and for the treatment of infections.
3. It is used as an agent to lyse(destruction of cells through lysin) red blood cells before white blood cells are examined.
4. Vinegar has also been said to reduce high concentrations of blood sugar.

Food Industry

1. In the food industry, acetic acid finds its use most commonly in commercial pickling operations, and in condiments like mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup.
2.  It is also used for seasoning various food items like salads etc.
3.  Additionally, vinegar can react with alkaline ingredients like baking soda and when that happens it produces a gas which helps to make baked goods become puffier.

Household Uses

Acetic acid which is a dilute solution is used extensively as vinegar. And as we are familiar with, vinegar is widely used for cleaning, laundry, cooking, and many other household uses. Farmers usually spray acetic acid on livestock silage to counter bacterial and fungal growth.

Apart from these, acetic acid is used for the manufacture of inks and dyes and it is also used in making perfumes. It is also involved in the manufacturing of rubber and plastic industries.