Hydrogen Chloride As an Electrolyte
Hydrogen chloride (hydrochloric acid, HCl) is a strong electrolyte and dissolves almost completely in water. When it dissolves, it donates a proton (H+) to water, increasing acidity and lowering pH. HCl is used widely in industry for chemical synthesis, refining metal ores, removing scale from boilers and plumbing, and various other applications.
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Solubility
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Hydrogen chloride consists of a single hydrogen atom and a single chloride atom. It has a molecular weight of 36.46 and is usually sold as a concentrated solution up to about 38 percent. Specially prepared more-concentrated solutions of hydrogen chloride are known as "fuming" hydrogen chloride. Hydrogen chloride dissolves rapidly in water and gives off an extensive amount of heat during the process. Concentrated hydrogen chloride should be added very slowly to water to avoid explosion.
Electrolyte Properties
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The acid dissociation constant, Ka, indicates how strongly the acid dissolves in water. The Ka for hydrogen chloride is effectively infinite, meaning that it dissolves almost completely in water, and the chloride ion, CL-, is an extremely weak conjugate base.
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Ion Exchange Resins
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Hydrochloric acid is an electrolyte used to remove metal ions from ion exchange resins. These resins are used to remove metal contaminants from water, such as sodium and calcium. The hydrogen ion (H+) has a higher affinity for the resins and displaces the metal ions that are then flushed out of the resin.
Buffering and pH
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Hydrogen chloride is used to neutralize alkaline pH solutions. Hydrogen ions in hydrogen chloride react with hydroxyl ions (OH-) to produce a neutral solution. This reaction gives off a lot of heat, and concentrated solutions of acid and bases should never be combined directly or an explosion may result. Equivalent molar solutions of hydrogen chloride and a typical base like sodium hydroxide will have a neutral pH, with sodium chloride forming as a byproduct.
Industrial Electrolyte
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Hydrogen chloride is the preferred acid in industry for a variety of processes. Unlike sulfuric, phosphoric, and other acids, hydrogen chloride is less likely to form unwanted byproducts. Chloride is less reactive than sulphates, phosphates, and other conjugate bases found in acids. This makes hydrochloric acid useful for chemical synthesis, refining metal ores, cleaning metals, and many other processes.
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References
- Photo Credit laboratory equipment image by Vasiliy Koval from Fotolia.com
