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-----Plates for Oil Storage Tanks
2002
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing a short story based on my experience during the 70's working as a security guard for a company that built oil storage tanks. At the facility where I worked they prepared steel plates. The most important part of this process seemed to be dipping these plates in one or both of two baths that I assumed was very caustic. Could you tell me what was in these tanks? Would it dissolve human flesh but not gold?
Jerome Tovo- Newe York, New York
It is very hard to dissolve gold; probably only aqua regia (nitric acid plus hydrochloric acid) will do it. So if your book claims hot sodium hydroxide (caustic soda ⇦liquid caustic soda in bulk on Amazon [affil link] , lye) as the cleaning material it will be sound and, yes, it can dissolve a human body but not gold.
However, I think most books and novels exaggerate in their portrayal of the speed of dissolution; it would probably take many hours if not many days for anything I can think of to actually dissolve a human being.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
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2002
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