RODINE 92B Acid Inhibitor for Food Processing equipment cleaners - ChemEqual

Effective cleaning of equipment in the food processing industry is required to reduce chances for contamination of during preparation, processing, storage & serving. Cleaning prevents attraction of lower life forms like food pathogens, increases equipment life, boosts employee morale and efficiency and accounts for aesthetic considerations of consumers. The primary cleaning agent is water; free from disease producing organisms, toxic metal ions and objectionable taste & odor. But such quality of cleaning water is hard to achieve and chemicals are tailored to meet cleaner specifications based on water composition and operation type.

Acid Type Cleaners & Corrosion:

Acid cleaners are used in the food processing industry for milkstone removal and cleaning equipment like broth tanks, ingrediators etc. A wide choice of acid type cleaners for mineral scale removal exist today but organic acids and blends of organic acid type cleaners and chelating agents have found much popularity in recent times. This is because they are much less corrosive than mineral acids and alkaline cleaners. Citric acid and EDTA are frequently used for this purpose owing to a better pH regulation and less aggressive surface action.

Nevertheless, acid cleaning chemicals are corrosive to the base metal and are responsible for corrosion & pitting of surface. Inhibitors for Citric Acid descaling solution are usually applied at very low concentrations (1000-3000 ppm) to provide upto 99.8% corrosion inhibition during acid cleaning processes. Depending on the acid type used, specific corrosion inhibitors are designed to remove scales and deposits from equipment while minimizing base metal loss. They are of mostly polymeric origin and act by forming chelating structures, proving high efficiency as inhibitors in acid chemical cleaning operations.

RODINE 92B is a blend of semi-foaming corrosion inhibitors specifically formulated for preventing corrosion by Citric acid and EDTA based cleaners. It is highly efficient at protecting metal surfaces such as steel and copper alloys commonly associated with equipments in food processing and packaging industry. It has been shown to assist in surface cleaning and descaling actions by acid cleaners without any pitting or corrosion on metal surface.

With respect to the nature of industry where rodine acid inhibitors are used, toxicity issues for inhibitors is of prime concern & exposure to humans due to improper/inadequate rinsing is a possibility. Rodine 92B has been designed for such special applications and contains ingredients generally recognized safe to humans thus suitable for cleaning of food equipment.

Key product features are:

·         Modifies metal surface to prevent corrosion

·         Excellent wetting properties for better cleaning

·         Enhances cleaning efficiency

Rodine 92B is effective upto a temperature of 85°C/185°F and can be applied in all types of food processing, packaging & storage industries as inhibitor for acid cleaning systems.

ChemEqual is a online global chemical marketplace for Acid Inhibitors where Rodine type & its equivalent inhibitors can be found.

Metal Pickling: Acids and Inhibitors

Hot rolling processes associated with various metal industries often leave behind inorganic oxide residues on treated metal surfaces. Exposure to moisture also results in rusting of Ferro-Nickel based metal parts. These oxides interfere with further cold processing like polishing, electroplating, painting or enameling. Rust and scale formation is a thin layer of metal oxide on the surface that is mostly removed by chemical cleaning also called “Pickling”.

Pickling is carried out on oxide scaled surfaces of metals with alloy content less than 6%. The ideal pickling solution, known as Pickle Liquor is a 3%-10% solution of Hydrochloric acid (HCl) or Sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). Hydrochloric acid is chosen over Sulfuric acid because of faster pickling action all the while minimizing base metal loss. It restricts formation of smut and greatly decreases the risk of excessive attacking.  It is also economic as heating expenses needed for sulfuric acid are spared due to possibility of lower temperature pickling.

Metal pickling is essential for thoroughly removing scales and inorganic surface contaminants before applying finishing layers like paint, galvanizing and polishing. The result of the process depends on the type, strength and temperature of the pickling liquor. In order to be economical, it is chosen as a continuous cleaning process by mode of manual/mechanized spraying or dipping in large acid vats. For small scale industries like jewellery making and research laboratories, extensive use of pickle pots is observed. Nevertheless, the corrosive action of diluted pickle acids cannot be ignored. In most cases, there is a significant loss of base metal during cleaning operations. For this reason, Acid Inhibitors are used with the acid solution to reduce base metal corrosion.

Inhibitors are natural or synthetic organic compounds added to acid solutions to reduce metal surface corrosion. They slow or stop the chemical action of acid on the base metal surface.

Inhibitors are essential to:

   Reduce base metal loss

  Protect the surface from pitting attack by excessive pickling or from poor surface condition quality

  Reduce fumes resulting from excessive acid-metal reactions

  Help economize acid consumption without reducing descaling efficacy

  Control the rate of pickling

Rodine Acid Inhibitor is a series of acid corrosion inhibitors designed to serve worldwide standards for acid inhibitors. They are specially synthesized to provide protection to base metals from acidic corrosion effectively. Rodine Acid Inhibitor products inhibit the corrosion of metals against acids like Hydrochloric, Hydrofluoric, Sulfuric, Phosphoric, Sulfamic, and organic acids blends. The most common products underlined in this range include Rodine 213, Rodine 213 Spl, Rodine 31A, Rodine 103, Rodine 103 NF, Rodine 92B, Rodine 130, and many more.

The process is limited to oxides and inorganic scales and contamination by soils, oil, grease, soaps and lubricants need additional processes with the use of Degreasing chemicals. Other limitations of acid pickling include difficulty to handle products because of their corrosive nature, the issue of hydrogen embrittlement popularly associated with some alloy and high-carbon steels, occupational hazards as the reactions produce toxic fumes in the factory shed. To obtain desired descaling, without endangering metal surfaces, acid concentrations and solution temperature need to be monitored quite strictly. Sludge is the ultimate waste product of acid pickling. It contains acid rinse water, metallic dissolved and suspended salts, waste spent acid etc. EPA considers it Hazardous waste and recommends proper treatment before disposal mostly in the form of Lime neutralization.