FragranceLover89
Hazard to Self
Posts: 72
Registered: 13-8-2019
Member Is Offline
|
|
Unusual gas from Mg in Citric acid
I was trying to smooth a Mg ring I carved with citric acid. The Mg started bubbling and began producing a slight garlic smell, which freaked me out a
lot because H2 is supposed to be odorless. I am worried my Mg is contaminated with MgP or MgAs. Does anyone know what happened?
|
|
|
njl
National Hazard
Posts: 609
Registered: 26-11-2019
Location: under the sycamore tree
Member Is Offline
Mood: ambivalent
|
|
Garlic smell could be H2S, so maybe a sulfide? Also contaminants could even be other metal cations.
|
|
|
woelen
Super Administrator
Posts: 8027
Registered: 20-8-2005
Location: Netherlands
Member Is Offline
Mood: interested
|
|
Garlic smell is not H2S. Could be PH3, but in these small quantities I would not worry at all. PH3 has no long-lasting effects and the amount is way
too small to pose a direct risk.
No need to worry about AsH3. Nowadays, arsenic contamination of metals like Mg, Al, Fe is not at all common. Around 1900 things were different, but
nowadays, unintended As-contamination of commercially available materials is uncommon.
|
|
|
valeg96
Hazard to Others
Posts: 254
Registered: 6-4-2014
Location: Italy
Member Is Offline
Mood: Moodless
|
|
OT: Woelen I agree, but sometimes cheap stuff is contaminated. A friend of mine purchased a roll of cheap solder from china, and found out it was
exceedingly radioactive (I assume the production plant improperly melted some radioactive lead). So I wouldn't be surprised if a cheap block of Mg
from china had relevant amounts of As.
Then again, I've found that most metals give off a garlic-y smell while being dissolved, or at least their acid aereosol stinks a bit. Iron is a prime
example.
|
|
|
Herr Haber
International Hazard
Posts: 1236
Registered: 29-1-2016
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Quote: Originally posted by valeg96  |
Then again, I've found that most metals give off a garlic-y smell while being dissolved, or at least their acid aereosol stinks a bit. Iron is a prime
example. |
Oh so true. I sometimes wondered what kind of contaminants were in the steel I was trying to restore with sulphamic acid.
And the cell to remove silver plating from silverware... Yuk!
The spirit of adventure was upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn what the words 'act upon' meant. - Ira Remsen
|
|
|
FragranceLover89
Hazard to Self
Posts: 72
Registered: 13-8-2019
Member Is Offline
|
|
Thanks! It is good to know this is probably common/not hazardous.
|
|
|
Fluorite
Hazard to Others
Posts: 139
Registered: 26-12-2018
Location: United Arab Emirates
Member Is Offline
|
|
You can try the marsh test if you're concerned
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xpblue/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
