The Shop > Finishing
Citric Acid Concentration?
PekkaNF:
Mybe people think automatically HAZMAT when they hear citricACID!
Maybe google translator will help on these ones:
http://www.biofarm.fi/tuote/sitruunahappo-vitapol/
Milka citric accid 99 %
"Acidification of the farmed feed (for pigs)
The powder can also neutralize the strongly alkaline new concrete floor by making it as strong as possible in hot water solution and brushing it on the floor and giving the floor to dry"
This is food grade citric accid (E330) it's bit more expensive at 29€/kg:
https://www.karkkainen.com/verkkokauppa/sitruunahappojauhe-e330-5kg
What about ethnic food shops? I think, I bought 1kg plastic bag of that from lebanese food shop looong timeago, they also had 1kg bags of MSG and other forbiden additives. :palm:
But if citric accid gets you stumpped, maybe normal pickling vinegar will do? Stinky though? Maybe a pail with a lid?.
Pekka
awemawson:
I just buy it on eBay by the 10 kg drum
sparky961:
So, getting a bit OT and "after the fact" from the original post, but this still seemed the most appropriate place for the following.
A chemist, I am not. I recall sitting in high school chemistry daydreaming while the chemical equations floated across the blackboard.... covalent bonds, ionic bonds, blah, blah, blah. But one thing that stuck (or maybe it was from a Simpson's episode) was to NEVER mix an acid and a base.
Perhaps there are exceptions, or ways to do it well, but let me describe (with a rather bashful look on my face) what I've done and hopefully someone can tell me exactly what is _is_ that I've done, and if I was lucky - and maybe just how lucky. Maybe it just looked worse than it was.
So, "citric acid solution disposal".... that's where we find ourselves. I'm all done with the de-rusting described elsewhere on this forum, and in passing by the neglected barrel of acid tonight I noticed mold forming around the top and on the surface of the liquid. So, this is nothing strange in my basement. But I thought to myself: "if there's mold growing, it can't be THAT bad to dispose of it without additional precautions". I live rurally, so no city sewers. I did not want, nor was it convenient, to dispose into the septic tank. My basement has a french drain (basically into the ground with some gravel around it) in the corner, and this seemed quite appropriate to safely dispose a weak citric acid solution.
Do correct me if I'm wrong because I have more to go. I transferred about 1/4 of the barrel into the laundry tub where it slowly empties down the french drain. I added a stream of fresh water to further dilute things as it was draining.
So, here's where things get interesting....
I thought I'd make an effort to bring the pH back to neutral (7) by the addition of a very small amount of lye (sodium hydroxide). Into the full washtub (pH of about 4-5, to start) I sprinkled perhaps 2 tablespoons or so of lye across the surface. At first, nothing much happened. Then I noticed the bottom starting to change colour a bit. Then I began to see "dark clouds" forming at the bottom of the basin....which quickly grew into an evil looking thunderstorm of blackish/blue churning through the water! All the while, the tap continued to run diluting things. This is well water, so no chlorine but other minerals for sure including high iron and likely some sulfur compounds by the smell some days.
Anyway, the entire sink turned this dark blue/black colour but no noticeable odour nor extreme temperature change were noted. I checked and I overshot on the pH with just that little bit of lye, with a reading of about 9-10. I figured things were all good though, and proceeded to write this post before disposing of the remainder.....
I stand ready for education. I promise not to doze off, as long as you skip the heavy math equations.
jcs0001:
Sparky
I can't educate you however am monitoring cbc for reports of a house and occupants disappearing :bugeye:
Please keep up regular reports so that we know you are still kicking :D
John.
sparky961:
They'll probably think its a meth lab or something...
Your concern is appreciated and all is well here. I haven't been posting much because Ive been out enjoying the unseasonably warm weather in my kayak. Water is cold (10° C) but toasty warm in a dry suit.
Best I can tell from my own research is that I simply converted the dissolved iron compound (ferric citrate?) Into iron oxide. The form being blue/black and insoluble so it precipitated out and dank slowly to the bottom.
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