For many years, Chemlink have recommended a great acid replacement product called BJSi from Vitech International. While this is still a great acid replacement option for car cleaning and toilet cleaning, we wanted to show you what’s new in the acid replacement category.
So What’s Wrong With Using Acids?
Don’t get us wrong, sometimes a mineral or organic acid is called-for in a formulation. But strong acids can sometimes do more damage than it’s worth.
Acids can damage surfaces meaning the surfaces must be replaced sooner and they can sometimes give-off dangerous fumes. Then there are the extra Health & Safety risks to those working with them, acids can be corrosive to skin, so is it really worth the extra caution and extra risk? There is also an industry drive away from acids for general consumer use due to safety concerns, and luckily there are products like these available to fill that gap.
The products in this article are all Vitech International products that Chemlink can supply or use to create custom formulations to suit your product’s requirements. Each product has its own strengths, and our team are always happy to advise which descaler will be the most suitable for your formulation’s requirements.
What’s So Good About These Acid Replacements Mixtures?
Vitech’s range of descalers pack in some seriously impressive qualities; All the products featured in this article are phosphate free, VOC exempt,
biodegradable and non-irritating to skin.
In Europe, these products are REACH exempt, owing to the fact that they are classified as ionic mixtures.
Plus some have been awarded patents and Pollution Prevention Awards in the USA and Canada.
BJSi
While Hydrochloric acid is the best chemical when it comes to dissolving limescale by far, it’s more often than not, impractical. Especially for use in
homecare or car care formulations. BJSi is the most effective descaler in the Vitech range today.
BJSi is classified as a mild skin irritant, is non-fuming and is non-corrosive, making it so much more user-friendly.
Due to this, it’s best used in;
- Industrial descalers
- Homecare descalers
- Concrete floor cleaners
- Pool and spa cleaners
- Concrete equipment cleaners
- Food industry cleaners
ALB
This patented descaler is a great alternative to Hydrofluoric acid, being non- irritant to skin, low-risk in terms of health & safety and works without damaging metal and glass surfaces. ALB has been specially formulated to just brighten aluminium surfaces, rather than to whiten the surface where traditional hydrofluoric acid would. It’s so safe it’s even won a Pollution Prevention Award from the EPA.
If you’re looking for a descaler that remove oxidation completely but will be kind to metals and glass surfaces, this is the one for you. Take a look at it’s performance in the video below.
We recommend choosing ALB for the following applications;
- Aluminium cleaning and brightening
- Tile cleaning
- HVAC/Air conditioning fin cleaning
- Vehicle wheel cleaning
- Presoak for vehicles
- Building restoration
APW
APW is the sister-product to ALB. It too has won an EPA award for Pollution Prevention as a safe alternative to Hydrofluoric acid. Like ALB it has fantastic descaling abilities, but is particularly suited to removing rust and iron salts as well.
We recommend this product as a wheel cleaner because it can effectively remove brake and wheel dust.
APW is the best choice for;
- Rust removal
- Vehicle wheel cleaning
- Silicate descaling
- Aluminium boat cleaning
- HVAC/Air conditioning fin cleaning
- Here’s a video demonstrating its rust-fighting abilities
M5
What makes M5 special is that it can outperform most organic acids while having no solubility limits. It won’t damage most metals, is non-fuming, non-irritating to skin and is biodegradable.
It is twice as effective as the industry-leading product and much safer. It’s ideal for use in:
- Bathroom and tile cleaners
- Retail descalers
- Retail delimers
- Food industry cleaning
- Pool and spa cleaning
- Hospitality beverage cleaning
A85
A85 is a non-irritant, non-fuming acidic organic salt mixture which can often help replace mineral acids in traditional formulations, where it can act as a safer alternative to Hydrochloric acid. It could also be formulated into aluminium cleaners to help brighten the surface.
It’s biodegradable and VOC exempt, so makes an ideal additive to other descaling formulations.
It’s best used as;
- A pH adjuster
- Replacement for phosphoric acid in many applications – certainly in the cleaning of food and dairy plants
- 2-step acid/alkaline for vehicle pre-soaks
- Wheel cleaner
With all Vitech’s traditional mineral acid replacements, we here at Chemlink would also suggest the use of corrosion inhibitors to prevent any potential damage to surfaces or mixing vessels.
Whether you’re looking to develop a new formula or would like to update a current formula with one of these fantastic descaling acid alternatives, our team are ready to help.
From our labs in the UK we can create formulations exclusively for your product to suit your specific requirements.
Contact us today on +44 (0)161 6292129 or complete the contact form here and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.
