Hi,
I am trying to use the EZ water calculator that seems very easy to use.
Nevertheless, there is one point I do not understand very well.
It is the quantity of acid that is used to lower the alkalinity with Lactic acid 88%.
Suppose I fix the mash water to 10 l.
Filling the cell, J37, I can see that, at a mash PH target equal to 5.4, a quantity of 1ml of Lactic acid 88% lowers the alkalinity by 117 ppm as CaCO3.
117 ppm as CaCO3 is also 117/50 mEq/l= 2.34 mEq/l
This also means that 1ml of Lactic acid 88% supplies 23.4 mEq. Consequently the strength of this acid is (a) 23.4 mEq/ml.
Other sources make me think that the actual strength of Lactic acid 88 at PH 5.4 is roughly (b) 11.45 mEq/ml.
I can read in Palmer's book "How to Brew" on page 346 that we need 1ml of 1N solution to reduce the alcalinity of one liter by 50 pph i.e. 1mEq/l.
On the following page I read that we need 84.7 ml of Lactic acid 88% to prepare one liter of 1N solution.
Consequently, 0.0847 ml of Lactic acid 88% lowers the alkalinity of one liter by 1 mEq/l
In other terms, the strength of this acid is (c) 1/0.0847= 11.8 mEq/ml
Value (b) is calculated according to this post i.e. it is calculated at a PH of 5.4.
Value (c) is more general and doesn't provide a PH value
The fact is that (b) and (c) values are both roughly twice the value of (a)
At the bottom of the calculator the author indicated is TH from this site.
Could TH, or anybody else, explain me why in the formula that calculates the acid contribution there is explicitly of factor of 2 that is used ?
I confess I am not a chemist but I like to understand what I am doing and what is under the hood of the tools I use.
I am trying to use the EZ water calculator that seems very easy to use.
Nevertheless, there is one point I do not understand very well.
It is the quantity of acid that is used to lower the alkalinity with Lactic acid 88%.
Suppose I fix the mash water to 10 l.
Filling the cell, J37, I can see that, at a mash PH target equal to 5.4, a quantity of 1ml of Lactic acid 88% lowers the alkalinity by 117 ppm as CaCO3.
117 ppm as CaCO3 is also 117/50 mEq/l= 2.34 mEq/l
This also means that 1ml of Lactic acid 88% supplies 23.4 mEq. Consequently the strength of this acid is (a) 23.4 mEq/ml.
Other sources make me think that the actual strength of Lactic acid 88 at PH 5.4 is roughly (b) 11.45 mEq/ml.
I can read in Palmer's book "How to Brew" on page 346 that we need 1ml of 1N solution to reduce the alcalinity of one liter by 50 pph i.e. 1mEq/l.
On the following page I read that we need 84.7 ml of Lactic acid 88% to prepare one liter of 1N solution.
Consequently, 0.0847 ml of Lactic acid 88% lowers the alkalinity of one liter by 1 mEq/l
In other terms, the strength of this acid is (c) 1/0.0847= 11.8 mEq/ml
Value (b) is calculated according to this post i.e. it is calculated at a PH of 5.4.
Value (c) is more general and doesn't provide a PH value
The fact is that (b) and (c) values are both roughly twice the value of (a)
At the bottom of the calculator the author indicated is TH from this site.
Could TH, or anybody else, explain me why in the formula that calculates the acid contribution there is explicitly of factor of 2 that is used ?
I confess I am not a chemist but I like to understand what I am doing and what is under the hood of the tools I use.
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