I just re-watched the episode of Breaking Bad where Jesse uses hydrofluoric acid to dissolve a corpse in his bathtub (season 1, episodes 2-3). Because he didn't use a plastic container as instructed, the acid burned through the bathtub and the floor (as well as dissolving not only the corpse, but also two guns that Jesse had put in the tub). Jesse and Walt scoop up the dissolved remains and flush them down the toilet.
My question is: if the hydrofluoric acid burned through the ceramic tub and the floor beneath it, wouldn't it also burn through the toilet (presumably, also made of ceramic) and the plumbing (presumably made of metal)?
My question is: if the hydrofluoric acid burned through the ceramic tub and the floor beneath it, wouldn't it also burn through the toilet (presumably, also made of ceramic) and the plumbing (presumably made of metal)?
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Not exactly.
Hydrofluoric acid is very soluble in water. The more water that is available, the more dilute the concentration of the acid is. The more dilute a solution of HF is, the effectiveness of its corrosiveness decreases.
You also mentioned that the remains were flushed down the toilet. By this time, a lot of the HF would already have "reacted", leaving behind small traces of unreacted acid. This then goes back to the discussion of water dilution mentioned above.
Hydrofluoric acid is very soluble in water. The more water that is available, the more dilute the concentration of the acid is. The more dilute a solution of HF is, the effectiveness of its corrosiveness decreases.
You also mentioned that the remains were flushed down the toilet. By this time, a lot of the HF would already have "reacted", leaving behind small traces of unreacted acid. This then goes back to the discussion of water dilution mentioned above.
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That's why they flushed