Friday, January 18, 2008

Glycolic Acid in Industrial Use

Gylcolic acid has many different uses in many different industries. It is commonly used in the beauty and cosmetic industry as a way to reinvigorate the skin and have it looking very young and fresh. Glycolic acid in that industry is used at a very low concentration. When you get to higher levels, then it is best used in industrial settings. This article will focus on Glycolic Acid's use in the industrial sectors of society. It comes from fruit acids that are often called alpha-hydroxy acids. It is usually created as a by product from sugar cane. It is used extensively and at different concentrations. Concentrations under 10% are considered mild and are used extensively in the beauty industry. Concentrations above up to 70% can be highly corrosive and are used in the industrial sectors.

It is extremely soluble and this makes it the perfect chemical to clean and be used in the industrial sector. It is good at cutting through hard water salts. It is also a very low corrosive when applied specific metals. It has little to no odor and it is not very toxic. It is also easy to clean up, once it is used, just apply water to reduce its concentration. It is very environmentally friendly and it is not flammable.

Glycolic acid is extremely useful as a concrete remover. Because it can be dissolved in water, you can pour it into cracks and crevices and this can attack the concrete from inside. If you use tools extensively in this field that has a lot of concrete in it, then this is product for you. It melts concrete, restoring the tools and equipment close to its original state. It is a very effective metal cleaner, this is due to its less corrosive nature. It works well with various metals such as aluminum and copper. And also many metal and painted plastic surfaces. This means it can be used to clean many industrial boilers and heat exchangers. It also is good at dissolving carbonate oxide. Glycolic acid does not contain chloride, so it can be used on stainless steel, without having stress-cracking.

Glycolic acid can be very useful when it comes to water treatment. This means cleaning water pipes or water wells. This is accomplished as the glycolic acid will melt away build up in pipes such as calcium, manganese salts and magnesium. It can also target many types of deposits such as iron. If the pipes are clogged with organic waste, it works really well. It can biodegrade very quickly and this means it can break down organic matter with ease. It has its use in the industrial sector due to its versatility. It can be used to do many things from being a metal, concrete and water cleaner. Because of its low toxicity and it being non-flammable, it is the perfect cleaner available to handle large industrial projects.