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 Post subject: Cyanuric acid and bleach
PostPosted: March 26th, 2011, 7:04 pm 
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Split off of this topic. JasonLion

Do not pour bleach directly on the cyanuric acid. Dilute the bleach and add it away from the cyanuric acid.
Quote:
The reaction of an isocyanurate with hypochlorite can result in rapid formation of nitrogen trichloride, which at high enough concentrations will detonate spontaneously with great violence.
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/Chemi ... ntentID=73


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 Post subject: Re: Can I pour liquid bleach over my CYA ?
PostPosted: March 26th, 2011, 8:15 pm 
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Cyanuric acid, used to raise the CYA level, is not an isocyanurate, and thus not explosive when mixed with bleach. Dichlor and trichlor are both isocyanurates, and can explode when mixed with bleach.



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 Post subject: Re: Can I pour liquid bleach over my CYA ?
PostPosted: March 26th, 2011, 8:40 pm 
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I think you meant to say that CYA is not a chlorinated isocyanurate, but your point is still valid. Anyway, there's not much point pouring bleach literally on top of the CYA anyway -- it can just be poured over another return flow or if there is only one return then further away from the return.



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 Post subject: Re: Can I pour liquid bleach over my CYA ?
PostPosted: March 26th, 2011, 11:03 pm 
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Adding the bleach near the cyanuric acid with a good flow of water should probably not cause any problems. However, I believe that it is a best practice to avoid adding chemicals in close proximity to each other.

Cyanuric acid can be oxidized by hypochlorite, in concentrated solutions, in the following manner, forming nitrogen trichloride as an intermediate.

H3Cy + OH- --> H2Cy- + H2O

Cyanuric acid + hydroxide --> Cyanurate + water

H2Cy- + 2ClO- --> Cl2Cy- + 2OH-

Cyanurate + hypochlorite --> dichloroisocyanurate + hydroxide

Cl2Cy- +7ClO- + 4H2O --> 3NCl3 + 2CO2 + HCO3 - + 7OH-

Dichloroisocyanurate + hypochlorite + water --> Nitrogen trichloride + carbon dioxide + bicarbonate + hydroxide

3NCl3 + 9OH- --> 1.5N2 + 4.5ClO- + 4.5Cl- + 4.5H2O

Nitrogen trichloride + hydroxide --> nitrogen gas + hypochlorite + chloride + water

Overall:

H3Cy + 4.5ClO- --> 1.5N2 + 4.5Cl- + 3CO2 + 1.5H2O


Reference


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 Post subject: Re: Cyanuric acid and bleach
PostPosted: March 27th, 2011, 7:39 am 
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This side conversation has been moved to The Deep End. Please do not post advanced chemistry in the Just Getting Started area. Thanks JasonLion



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 Post subject: Re: Cyanuric acid and bleach
PostPosted: March 27th, 2011, 5:55 pm 
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This post I wrote a while ago talks about the oxidation of CYA by chlorine, but this isn't a particularly fast process. At any rate, it is a good idea to avoid mixing concentrated chemicals in general. Particularly troublesome is Cal-Hypo and Trichlor as shown in this link while this link shows that Cal-Hypo's flammability is a function of its concentration. Also troublesome is acid with chlorine.



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