Muriatic acid alternatives: Sulfuric Acid, Sodium Bisulfate and CO2

Author: Joe Sweazy, Eric Knight
Published: Wed 28 Jul 2021
Episode Link: https://www.orendatech.com

00:00 - Intro

01:33 - We're in an muriatic acid shortage. Thanks, COVID.

02:21 - Two specialty acids: modified Muriatic Acids for less fuming: AcidBlue and AcidMagic.

03:06 - Muriatic acid is a diluted form of Hydrochloric acid (HCl). It is 31.45% HCl or less.

04:14 - Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is sold in 38.5% concentration. It is comparable in dosing to standard 31.45% HCl. It takes just 2% more sulfuric acid to equal muriatic by volume.

09:36 - Sodium bisulfate (NaHSO4) is sold in 93.2% concentration. It is also known as "dry acid", or in pool retail stores, "pH down" or "alkalinity down". It is safer to handle than liquid acid, but needs to be pre-dissolved before adding to the pool.

11:48 - Let's talk about sulfates (SO4--) or (SO3--).

12:05 - One gallon of 38.5% sulfuric acid leaves behind 47.1 ppm of sulfates in 10,000 gallons.

13:19 - One pound of 93.2% of sodium bisulfate leaves behind 9.6 ppm of sulfates in 10,000 gallons, plus salt.

14:58 - even in perfectly LSI-balanced water, if you have high enough sulfates, you can still have etching of cement. The sulfate ion (SO3--) can become the dominant ion and kicks carbonate off of calcium (Ca++) and create calcium sulfate. Enough calcium sulfate can precipitate a sharp crystalline scale.

18:08 - The only way to reduce sulfates is to drain and dilute. Unless you have Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) available. If you're going to use sulfuric or sodium bisulfate, you must regularly schedule dilutions to avoid sulfate problems.

19:53 - Sulfates and metals can combine to create that infamous 'rotten egg' smell. We think of it as sulfur, but it's usually iron sulfate or some variant.

21:08 - The third alternative for pH reduction is injecting carbon dioxide (CO2). It reduces pH but does not reduce alkalinity. In fact, alkalinity tends to rise due to excess lye from chlorine.

22:18 - Acid only introduces more CO2 (to reduce pH) is to burn through alkalinity and convert it into carbonic acid. And Joe thought I was asking a trick question. There is no CO2 in acid.

24:39 - One pound of CO2 is equivalent to 32.8 fl.oz. of standard Muriatic Acid for pH correction.

27:08 - Summary

------------------------------------

Connect with Orenda Technologies

Website: https://www.orendatech.com

Blog: https://blog.orendatech.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/OrendaTechnologies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orendatech/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orendatechnologies/

------------------------------------

Connect with Orenda Technologies

Website: https://www.orendatech.com