Re: pinhole Is saltwater alkaline?

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From: Geoff Ruth (gruth@leadershiphigh.org)
Date: Thu Apr 15 2004 - 19:42:21 PDT 

Message-Id: <p06020405bca4f795931b@[192.168.1.72]>
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 19:42:21 -0700
From: Geoff Ruth <gruth@leadershiphigh.org>
Subject: Re: pinhole Is saltwater alkaline?

Sheila,

There are a few components of seawater that act basic:

Sulfate accounts for 2.71 g of every kg of seawater. It acts as a
(very) weak base:
SO42- + H+ <=> H2O4- + H2O

Probably more significantly, each kg of sewater contains about 0.14 g
of bicarbonate ion (HCO3-). Bicarbon acts as a base:
HCO3- + H+ => H2O + CO2

Both these anions come from weathered minerals that dissolved into the oceans.
- Geoff

>I came across a statement in a CSET reviewer that saltwater will
>turn red litmus paper blue because it is alkaline. I know salts
>are neutralization products of the reaction between acids and bases
>and thus, are supposed to form neutral solutions.
>
>Are there basic impurities in salt that might make saltwater alkaline?
>
>Sheila Lacanaria
>
>
>
>Do you Yahoo!?
>Yahoo! Tax Center - <http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html>File online
>by April 15th

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