Cleaning beerstone {was: Re: [Rockhounds] muriatic acid forcleaning...!?????!!!}

[Steve & Marilyn]

Kreigh I haven't succesfully cleaned /treated calcium oxalate but I have a 
good Idea  Once a friend brought me some kndney stones and wanted them 
polished  (lets not go there) any way I put them in a vibrating tumbler and 
they disapeared!  I was very surprised later I found out that they have 
discovered a new way to treat K stones and that is ultrasonic waves break 
them up and make them easier to pass.  Give you any Ideas?  I'd try putting 
your specimens (a test first of course) in an ultrasonic cleaner with mild 
acid amonia? and see what happens.  Good Luck Steve
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kreigh Tomaszewski" <Kreigh at Tomaszewski.net>
To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors" 
<rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2007 7:45 PM
Subject: Cleaning beerstone {was: Re: [Rockhounds] muriatic acid 
forcleaning...!?????!!!}


> If you end up with calcium oxalate, how do you clean it off? It is not
> very nice stuff.
>
> Calcium oxalate turns up as a byproduct of brewing beer, coats tanks,
> and opens the door for spoiled batches. The crystals shield undesirable
> organisms. The industry calls it beerstone, and takes measures to
> control it.
>
> As a rockhound you might know it as Whewellite.
>
> Calcium oxalate also appears in some poisonous plants, and is a major
> component of kidney stones. When ingested, even small dosages are very
> not nice to humans -- and moderate doses can kill you. It is why you
> don't eat rhubarb leaves.
>
> The beer industry uses periodic treatment with caustic (2-4% lye) hot
> (185F) water solution followed by warm (140F) phosphoric acid (1-2
> oz/gallon) _OR_ a warm phosphoric/nitric acid solution (1-2 oz/gallon)
> followed by a warm noncaustic alkaline cleaner (1-2 oz/gallon). Both
> assume a final (usually high pressure) hot water rinse followed by tap
> water until drain ph is neutral to the tap water. The acid and alkaline
> compounds can neutralize each other, and be diluted, if a sufficient
> holding tank is in the drain; 15-30 minutes flow treatment per stage.
>
> Have any of you successfully cleaned calcium oxalate (off, probably,
> quartz)? What worked?
>
> Kreigh
>
>
> Flint Smith wrote:
>>
>> Just so we're complete here, HCl is used as a pre-treatment if you plan 
>> to remove rust stains using oxalic acid.  The plan is to avoid forming 
>> calcium oxalate.
>>
>> Right?
>
> -- 
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