Wanted to get rid of about two cups of muriatic acid, so I dumped it 
into a bucket with some dried tile grout on the sides. Forgot about the 
bucket for several months. Just found the bucket and the muriatic acid 
seems to have been neutralized (forearm test). There are clear, cubic 
crystals inside. Anyone know what these would be?

  -Shay

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> Wanted to get rid of about two cups of muriatic acid, so I dumped it
> into a bucket with some dried tile grout on the sides. Forgot about the
> bucket for several months. Just found the bucket and the muriatic acid
> seems to have been neutralized (forearm test). There are clear, cubic
> crystals inside. Anyone know what these would be?
>
> -Shay

After a little Google search, it seems that it's just another name for 
Chloridric acid. A solution of HCl in water.

After several months, most of the acid will have evaporated or reacted 
with any alcaline substance present. Grout is usualy alcaline.

Those crystals are some salts. It could be identical to common table 
salt (NaCl), or be some other chlorine based salts. Some salts are 
toxic, so I greatly advise you AGAINST tasting those.




Alain

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On 3/29/2011 14:55, Shay wrote:

> Anyone know what these would be?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6X9KcrXHwg

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Coding without comments is like
    driving without turn signals."

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On 3/29/2011 4:39 PM, Alain wrote:

>> Wanted to get rid of about two cups of muriatic acid, so I dumped it
>> into a bucket with some dried tile grout on the sides. Forgot about the
>> bucket for several months. Just found the bucket and the muriatic acid
>> seems to have been neutralized (forearm test). There are clear, cubic
>> crystals inside. Anyone know what these would be?
>>
>> -Shay
>
> After a little Google search, it seems that it's just another name for
> Chloridric acid. A solution of HCl in water.
>
> After several months, most of the acid will have evaporated or reacted
> with any alcaline substance present. Grout is usualy alcaline.
>
> Those crystals are some salts. It could be identical to common table
> salt (NaCl), or be some other chlorine based salts. Some salts are
> toxic, so I greatly advise you AGAINST tasting those.

Is there *any* chance the crystals might actually be calcite? I got 
pretty excited when I read this post, but if they are just salts, then 
bah. I was hoping the "cubes" were actually rhomboids... I honestly 
didn't expect calcite to grow so quickly, but it sure would be cool :)

~Sam

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> On 3/29/2011 4:39 PM, Alain wrote:

>>> Wanted to get rid of about two cups of muriatic acid, so I dumped it
>>> into a bucket with some dried tile grout on the sides. Forgot about the
>>> bucket for several months. Just found the bucket and the muriatic acid
>>> seems to have been neutralized (forearm test). There are clear, cubic
>>> crystals inside. Anyone know what these would be?
>>>
>>> -Shay
>>
>> After a little Google search, it seems that it's just another name for
>> Chloridric acid. A solution of HCl in water.
>>
>> After several months, most of the acid will have evaporated or reacted
>> with any alcaline substance present. Grout is usualy alcaline.
>>
>> Those crystals are some salts. It could be identical to common table
>> salt (NaCl), or be some other chlorine based salts. Some salts are
>> toxic, so I greatly advise you AGAINST tasting those.
>
> Is there *any* chance the crystals might actually be calcite? I got
> pretty excited when I read this post, but if they are just salts, then
> bah. I was hoping the "cubes" were actually rhomboids... I honestly
> didn't expect calcite to grow so quickly, but it sure would be cool :)
>
> ~Sam

No, calcite's basic formula is CaCO3 (calcium carbonate), while your 
cristals could be CaCl2 or some other nClx salts.



Alain

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Le 2011/03/29 19:52, Darren New a écrit :
> On 3/29/2011 14:55, Shay wrote:
>
>> Anyone know what these would be?
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6X9KcrXHwg
>

Yeah! Time Bandits!


Alain

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On 3/29/2011 5:08 PM, Alain wrote:
> Le 2011/03/29 19:52, Darren New a écrit :
>> On 3/29/2011 14:55, Shay wrote:
>>
>>> Anyone know what these would be?
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6X9KcrXHwg
>>
>
> Yeah! Time Bandits!
>

"Don't touch it, it's evil!" A defining moment of a great classic :)

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On 3/29/2011 5:06 PM, Alain wrote:

>>
>> Is there *any* chance the crystals might actually be calcite?
>
> No, calcite's basic formula is CaCO3 (calcium carbonate), while your
> cristals could be CaCl2 or some other nClx salts.
>

Oh well :(

I wonder if there's some way to grow calcite crystals using a saturated 
calcium carbonate solution. Acids and bases usually form salts, but 
there's got to be *some* way to do it. Even if it took years to grow a 
small grain, it would be worth it!

Post a reply to this message

> On 3/29/2011 5:06 PM, Alain wrote:

>>>
>>> Is there *any* chance the crystals might actually be calcite?
>>
>> No, calcite's basic formula is CaCO3 (calcium carbonate), while your
>> cristals could be CaCl2 or some other nClx salts.
>>
>
> Oh well :(
>
> I wonder if there's some way to grow calcite crystals using a saturated
> calcium carbonate solution. Acids and bases usually form salts, but
> there's got to be *some* way to do it. Even if it took years to grow a
> small grain, it would be worth it!

In a laboratory, or your kitchen, it should take a mather of hours, 
maybe a few days to grow any mineral crystal.

You start with a warm saturated solution, put in some nucleating bit. It 
can be a grain of sand, a speck of dist, the tip of a needle,...
You sometimes need to slow down the process to get beter quality 
crystals. In that case, you start with a solution at room temperature 
and only rely on evaporation.

As the solution cools down and the solvent evaporate, the crystals grows.

Very simple process.

The problem you usualy face with calcite, it that it's not very soluble. 
This limits the dimention that the crystal can reatch. You can 
circumvent that by refreshing the solution by forcing some circulation. 
You need a source area with a higher carbonic acid content that make the 
calcium carmonate more soluble. Then you need a crystalisation area 
where the carbonic acid evaporate into CO2, reducing the solubility of 
the carbonate and forcing it to crystalise.





Alain

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