High-Quality acid
Muriatic Acid can be used to regulate the acidity (pH) of solutions.
OH− + HCl → H2O + Cl−
In industry demanding purity (food, pharmaceutical, drinking water), high-quality Muriatic Acid is used to control the pH of process water streams.
Regeneration of ion exchangers
High-quality Muriatic Acid is used in the regeneration of ion exchange resins. Cation exchange is widely used to remove ions such as Na+ and Ca2+ from aqueous solutions, producingdemineralized water. The acid is used to rinse the cations from the resins. Na+ is replaced with H+ and Ca2+ with 2 H+. Ion exchangers and demineralized water are used in all chemical industries, drinking water production, and many food industries.
Pickling of steel
One of the most important applications of Muriatic Acid is in the pickling of steel, to remove rust or iron oxide scale from iron or steel before subsequent processing, such as extrusion, rolling,galvanizing, and other techniques. Technical quality HCl at typically 18% concentration is the most commonly used pickling agent for the pickling of carbon steel grades.
Fe2O3 + Fe + 6 HCl → 3 FeCl2 + 3 H2O
Muriatic acid in high concentrations forms acidic mists. Both the mist and the solution have a corrosive effect on human tissue, with the potential to damage respiratory organs, eyes, skin, and intestines. Upon mixing Muriatic acid with common oxidizing chemicals, such as bleach (NaClO) or permanganate (KMnO4), the toxic gas chlorine is produced. To minimize the risks while working with Muriatic acid, appropriate precautions should be taken, including wearing rubber or PVC gloves, protective eye goggles, and chemical-resistant clothing.
