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HELP FIGHT POLLUTION WITH LIMESTONE CHIPS
FOR ACID NEUTRALIZATION TANKS
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Limestone (marble) chips or lumps are being used in numerous applications to help neutralize and / or dilute chemical bearing wastes (e.g., acid wastes). After years of successful neutralization and dilution, many state and local environmental plumbing codes call for the addition of limestone chips into acid neutralization basins, tanks or sumps. Water is also added to the tanks to initiate the dilution process. The limestone chips being offered by T & C exceeds application requirements. The following two requirements are vital to proper limestone performance: The limestone must be in the one to three inch (1” – 3”) diameter size range and must contain a high calcium carbonate content in excess of ninety percent (90%). T & C limestone contains about 95%.
HOW IT WORKS :
The effective ingredient in limestone is calcium carbonate. This chemical compound actually reacts with acids to form harmless neutral salts, carbon dioxide and water. The neutral salts usually precipitate into a sludge, which falls to the bottom of the tank. Carbon dioxide gas mixes with water to form carbonic acid, which helps to neutralize alkaline (caustic) wastes. The water, of course, helps to dilute the acidic, alkaline and solvent wastes. The above reactions can be illustrated chemically, as follows:
--> 2 hydrochloric acid (HCI) + calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) calcium chloride (CaCl 2) + carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) + water (H 2O)
--> carbon dioxide (CO 2) + water (H 2O) carbonic acid (H 2CO 3)
--> 2 sodium hydroxide (NaOH) + carbonic acid (H 2CO 3) sodium carbonate (Na 2CO 3) + 2 water (H 2O)
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:
Corrosive, toxic and flammable wastes are being discharged daily from numerous industrial, institutional and commercial sources (e.g., hospital labs, school labs, chemical plants, plating facilities, slaughter houses, battery charging stations, photographic labs, etc.). Neutralization and dilution of these potentially hazardous wastes is very necessary, even when the quantities and concentrations are small. Such wastes can cause physical damage to a building's’piping or outside sewer system. If the effluent is being discharged to a sewage treatment facility, these harmful wastes can interfere with normal waste treatment. However, if the effluent is being ultimately discharged to a river or lake, the damage to our wildlife and environment is obvious.
Neutralization is the process whereby acids and alkalis (wastes) can be rendered harmless with the use of certain chemicals. Dilution is the process whereby chemical-bearing wastes can also be rendered harmless by the massive solvent (water) mixing or flushing. This mixing dilutes the effluent to a point that the chemicals in the wastes are rendered impotent. The degree of neutralization or dilution can be physically measured in numerical terms, through a system known as pH (positive hydronium ions). Neutral liquids, such as water, register a pH number of 7; acids register from 0 to 6.99; alkalis range from 7.01 to 14. The lower the number, the more acidic the waste. The higher the number, the more alkaline (caustic) the waste.
The use of T & C limestone and tanks are frequently the best and least expensive means to protect pipes and sewers from damage and to meet stringent environmental and plumbing codes. However, if necessary, T & C equipment can be used in conjunction with more sophisticated chemical treatment processes in order to achieve neutral and / or clean effluent.
