Hydrochloric Acid – A Versatile Organic Compound
Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) is a strong, corrosive, and highly reactive acid widely used in various industrial, laboratory, and household applications. It is a colorless to slightly yellow liquid with a pungent odor and is known for its high acidity and strong dissolving power. Naturally, hydrochloric acid is found in gastric juices in the human stomach, where it aids in digestion. Industrially, it is used in chemical manufacturing, metal processing, pH regulation, food processing, and cleaning applications.
Hydrochloric Acid-
Hydrochloric acid (HCl), a strong, corrosive acid, is a colorless solution of hydrogen chloride in water with a pungent smell with a density of approximately 1.05 g/mL, and highly soluble in water.
Properties:
- Melting Point: -114.22°C
- Boiling Point: -85.05°C
- Molar Mass: 36.458 g/mol
Major Uses:
Pickling of steel: One of the most important applications of hydrochloric 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.[25][7] Technical quality HCl at typically 18% concentration is the most commonly used pickling agent for the pickling of carbon steel grades.
Ion Exchange: High-quality hydrochloric 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, producing demineralized water. The acid is used to rinse the cations from the resins.[25] Na+ is replaced with H+ and Ca2+ with 2 H+.
Leather processing: Used to remove unwanted materials from hides and improve the quality of leather
Oil production: Used to acidize oil wells and stimulate oil production
Water purification: Used to purify table salt and remove permanent water hardness