Hello Marshall, The theory is that the chlorous acid is formed during the activation process. Depending on the PH, some free chlorine dioxide is released into the solution. There is a "rough" stability at this point, but as the free chlorine dioxide is used up the chlorous acid breaks down releasing more chlorine dioxide in an effort to balance things again.
In actual use things aren't quite that simple. In use the PH can fluctuate which will speed up or slow down the breakdown process of the chlorous acid. In addition there can be a large organic load that "soaks" up all the free chlorine dioxide as fast as it is produced. Also, the oxidizing solution can become polluted with other fluids changing the reaction properties again. I am not convinced that there is anyone in industry that really understands what is going on with this, but they have demonstrated that it is very effective. I believe the emphasis has shifted a little from chlorine dioxide to the properties of chlorous acid. An easy way to demonstrate the properties of the chlorous acid/chlorine dioxide equilibrium is to mix up a chlorous acid solution and disrupt the balance. You can do this by putting 3 ml of 5% sodium chlorite into a glass and activating it with 3 ml of 10% citric acid. Let the activation continue for 10 minutes, then add 200 ml of water. Note the color and odor of the solution. Next, add 50 mg of ascorbic acid to the solution. What has happened to the color and odor of the solution? Next, set the container aside and come back to it in about 60 minutes. What has happened to the color and odor of the solution this time? I believe HACH has reagent kits available for chlorine dioxide testing, but they may be limited to lower concentrations. Tom ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marshall Dudley" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 7:56 AM Subject: Re: CS>Sodium Chlorite and Nail Fungus > Cool. I am going to read through that stuff and try to learn some more. > > From my limited knowledge I was under the impression that when you mix > an acid with sodium chlorite the reaction is pretty well instantaneous, > regardless of which acid is used. However it makes chlorous acid, not > chlorine dioxide. The the chlorous acid converts to chlorine dioxide, > the rate of conversion being something close to being proportional to > the concentration squared. Now, thinking about it, it seems that adding > the two teaspoons to 8 ounces of water first is not correct, they should > be added together first with no dilution to get as much conversion as > possible. That could be part of the problem. > > Another thought comes to mind as well. Since the rate of conversion > goes up dramatically with concentration of chlorous acid it is possible > that the rate is dependent on the level of chlorine ions and not > chlorous acid specifically. In that case the use of hydrochloric acid > adds additional chlorine ions and that might increase the conversion as > well. So maybe if one were to use citric acid, but add some additional > sodium chloride, the conversion might go up as well. This is all > supposition and will require experimental testing to confirm or deny. > > I hope I can test for chlorine dioxide levels after reading the > materials, of so, then I should be able to give information that is > conjecture but rather experimentally confirmed. > > I do have a HACH scanning photospectrometer, so maybe I can use it to > get some very good information, if I can figure out how to calibrate it > for chlorine dioxide. Maybe I can use the test strips for calibration, > they may not be as accurate as desired, but once I have a calibration > point, it will all be relative. > > Marshall -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: <mailto:[email protected]> List Owner: Mike Devour <mailto:[email protected]>
