Technical Grade & Misc.

Diverse Technical Applications of Sodium Bisulfate

As an affordable, safe and easy to use acidifier, SBS Tech Grade is used in a wide variety of technical applications. Explore some of the more common uses of the dry, granular acid, sodium bisulfate, and contact the Specialty Products Division for additional information and pricing.

Adjuvant

The effectiveness of a number of agricultural pesticides is greatly diminished when added to water with high pH. Sodium bisulfate protects agricultural spray chemicals against product loss due to alkaline hydrolysis in spray solutions. The product works particularly well with glyphosate herbicides to enhance their effectiveness. Acidification with sodium bisulfate is recommended as an alternative to ammonium sulfate for use with many herbicides.

Water Treatment

Sodium bisulfate is used as a de-scaler in boilers, cooling towers, and water lines due to its ability to clean and shift pH. SBS is recommended when there is a need for effluent treatment of an alkaline substance.

Concrete Wash Out

Sodium bisulfate reduces alkalinity in “wash out” ponds formed by concrete truck clean out.

Leather Tanning

Sodium bisulfate acts as the acidifier in leather compounds when used in combination with quebacho tannin. It is combined with fillers and other chemicals to acidify hides used for shoe sole leather.

Resist Treatment Powder

Sodium bisulfate can be used as a component in compounds to treat aqueous and semi-aqueous photo-resistant strippers and developers. Together, the products neutralize the alkalinity of the stripper, coagulate the stripped resist, harden the particles, and buffer the treated solution to a dischargeable pH.

Soil Remediation Acidifier

Sodium bisulfate neutralizes alkaline soils for construction projects. It has been used as a direct additive to adjust soil pH to neutral/acceptable levels before building permits are approved. In this use, sodium bisulfate is generally tilled into the soil at the rate of 16,000 to 24,000 lbs. per acre depending on soil type. Tilling depth is 12 inches. This application reduces the pH by a factor of 2 (for example: from a pH of 8.5 to 6.5). It is recommended to spread SBS dry, disc it in and irrigate.

Boiler Blowdown

Sodium bisulfate neutralizes boiler blowdown water before discharge into city sewers. Concentrated boiler water contains scale, mineral deposits, and traces of alkaline chemicals with an average pH of 11. Mix the appropriate sodium bisulfate solution in water and meter it into the treatment system to reduce water pH to a range of 6-9 for discharge.

Sulfamic Acid Replacement

Sodium bisulfate is a popular substitute for sulfamic acid in many situations due to its low cost and made in the USA status. Common uses include descaling solutions, water treatment, compounding and most low pH requirements. Explore more reasons to use SBS in place of sulfamic acid.