Not everyone who has a run in with
hydrofluoric acid is as lucky as our painter.
Demand for
hydrofluoric acid and fluorochemicals is particularly high in Asia-Pacific.
When Caltex Refineries of Sydney, Australia, decided to improve the safety measures at the
hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit of its Lytton refinery near Brisbane more than a year ago, it approached the same company from which it had licensed alkylation technology: Phillips Petroleum Co.
One theory, put forth by the British researchers who initially achieved the effect, holds that bathing silicon in
hydrofluoric acid changes its light-emitting behavior.
Company executives say the use of
hydrofluoric acid in the Monterey shale deposit, the largest in the country, is the key tool in unlocking some of the estimated 15 billion barrels of crude trapped underground, rather than fracking, due to the state's geology.
Bottletop dispensers are ideal for those doing chemistry as well as for those working with different chemical compositions including bases, saline solutions, acids, organic solvents and
hydrofluoric acid (HF).
Ensitech's managing director, Clive White, says: "Pickling paste is extremely hazardous to users and the environment because its active ingredient is
hydrofluoric acid. At last, with the arrival of TIG Brush technology, stainless steel fabricators have a viable alternative."
They then dip the device in
hydrofluoric acid, which eats away the silicon dioxide and frees the probe.
Fluoropolymer products are resistant to many chemicals, including
hydrofluoric acid, boiling nitric acid and organic solvents.
The Westbury plant also produces acidic wastes, including
hydrofluoric acid, that result from cleaning quartz components.
The researchers uncovered the fossils by dissolving Silurian rocks in
hydrofluoric acid, which leaves behind exoskeleton fragments.