Nitric acid (HNO3) is a highly corrosive mineral acid. Most commercially available nitric acid has a concentration of 68% in water. When the solution contains more than 86% HNO3, it is referred to as fuming nitric acid. Pure concentrated nitric acid is a colourless liquid at room temperature.
The main industrial use of nitric acid is for the production of fertilizers. Nitric acid is neutralized with ammonia to give ammonium nitrate. The other main applications are the production of explosives, nylon precursors, and specialty organic compounds.