During its production, Sodium Bisulfate retains one of the hydrogen ions from a raw material, sulfuric acid, thereby giving it acidic properties.

It is this acid quality that classifies as a general commodity acid for industrial uses.

At the same time, it is a specialty acid in some applications because of its purity characteristics. This small globular white bead is readily soluble in water and generally used to adjust pH in most applications.

It is used for pH reduction in swimming pools and spas. It is the safest product to use for home and institutional pools and spas. Usually 1 to 2 lbs. applied in a 10,000 gallon pool will adequately reduce the pH. If after one or two hours the pH is above 7.8, repeat the treatment until the pH is between 7.2 and 7.6.

• Metal Finishing

It is the major component in dry acid bath formulations for metal cleaning. The general formula for most acidic baths include: salts of fluorides (5 -10%), Sodium Bisulfate (90 - 95%) plus a surfactant. The concentration is generally 4 oz. to 3 lbs. per gallon of water. At temperatures up to 170°F, this bath will clean steel, copper, brass, zinc, aluminum, nickel, magnesium, titanium and stainless steel. Typical uses are for pickling, scale removal, rust removal and etching.

• Adjuvant

Protects agricultural spray chemicals against product loss due to alkaline hydrolysis in spray solutions. The effectiveness of a number of agricultural pesticides is greatly diminished when added to water with high pH. Sodium Bisulfate works particularly well with glyphosate herbicides to enhance their effectiveness.

• Water Treatment

It is used as a de-scaler in boilers, cooling towers, and water lines. It cleans and adjusts pH. If there is a need for effluent treatment of an alkaline substance.

• Leather Tanning

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

• Chemical Grout

Sodium Bisulfate acidifies a grout formulation to form a temporary seal while constructing underground tunnels. It is combined with aluminum sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and other fillers as a dry compound. This compound is then put in a water solution and combined with liquid sodium silicate for spraying on tunnel walls.

• Resist Treatment Powder

It can be used as a component in compounds to treat aqueous and semi-aqueous photo-resistant strippers and developers. The products neutralize the alkalinity of the stripper, coagulates the stripped resist, hardens the particles, and buffers the treated solution to a dischargeable pH.

• Cleaning Compounds

Sodium Bisulfate is the acidifier and cleaning ingredient in many compounds. Because of its consistent particle size, it is compatible with most formulae. It has been used in formulae for cleaning cement, railroad cars, brass, lavatories, showers, and metals.

• Remediation Acidifier

It neutralizes alkaline soils for construction projects. It has been used as a direct additive to soil to adjust pH to a neutral or acceptable level 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 it dry, disc it in and irrigate.