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45071
Disposing of muriatic acid
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I have roughly 30 gallons of diluted
Muriatic Acid [link is to product info at Amazon]. it was
diluted 4:1. What would I do (fastest, safest, most enviromentally
friendly) to make it safe to dump on the ground or down the
drain?
I have 3 mini pinschers...
Sion Sublett
- Columbus, Ohio, USA
+++++++
Carefully neutralize with diluted caustic soda (sodium hydroxide)
to a pH near 7. The final product is sodium chloride and water (very
much like sea water). Then investigate if you can dump it in your
area.
Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
+++++++
Adding a sodium hydroxide solution to an acid can generate
significant heat. It would be safer and cheaper to use Sodium
Bicarbonate (baking soda [link is to product info at Amazon])
in a vessel that is at least twice as large as the volume of liquid
that you are neutralizing to allow for bubbling of the Carbon Dioxide
gas that will be generated. Add the Sodium Bicarbonate slowly in a
well ventilated or outside area. Continue to add the Sodium
Bicarbonate slowly until the solution reaches a near neutral pH 6-7.
You can then pour it down the drain assuming there is no other
contaminants in the muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid). You will have
metal contaminants in the muriatic acid if it ever came in contact
with metal.
Mike Jackson
- Woonsocket, RI


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