For our purposes we will discuss the sugar acids and their salts. The common ones used especially with caustic soda include:
- Gluconic Acid
- Sodium Gluconate (Dry and Liquid)
Gluconic acid for years was used as the basic chelator with caustic soda. It was first discovered
in 1878 and was commercially introduced by Pfizer. The material is made at 50% concentration
and is outlined as follows.
In recent years liquid sodium gluconate has been the most popular form to purchase primarily because the product is much more soluble in liquid form. The amount required for ethanol plant formulations varies with percent concentration of the final solution and temperature.