Is this potassium carbonate safe?

[Big L]

Hey all,

Normally i buy small batches of potassium carbonate off ebay labelled food grade. I've recently moved towards a bigger fermenter (200L) and so the small amounts i can buy off ebay aren't really enough. I've found an online chemical supplier selling what they call "Potassium Carbonate Anhydrous 99% ACS"

Cuisine and cocoa powder are listed as the uses - so i'm guessing its food safe - just thought i'd check here? Possibly its not something you need to worry about anyway at the stage i'm using it at - to bring PH of wash back up once it crashes at the start.

Thanks

L

[contrahead]

I don't see why it shouldn't be safe, within limits. It was used for years as a leavening while baking quick breads, and as an additive in beverages – like wine. But I don't understand why you would choose to use it, when it's expensive and probably less effective than lime (calcium hydroxide / which is really cheap, unless you buy food grade pickling lime).

<more of my opinion>
https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 2#p7677962

[Big L]

I don't see why it shouldn't be safe, within limits. It was used for years as a leavening while baking quick breads, and as an additive in beverages – like wine. But I don't understand why you would choose to use it, when it's expensive and probably less effective than lime (calcium hydroxide / which is really cheap, unless you buy food grade pickling lime).

<more of my opinion>
https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 2#p7677962

I'm not wedded to it - I remember reading on the WPOSW thread that it was recommended?

Maybe i'm wrong what is the general consensus?

[Yummyrum]

Potassium carbonate is soluble in water whereas Calcium carbonate is not . I’m not sure if it would change how it might act as a buffer over time .

[NZChris]

It might be safe, but is it the best way to control pH in a sugar wash?

I use whole shells, collected from my local beach, to simulate a buffer. There are many threads in this forum on this subject. My preference is to use large, whole, sea shells, added before the pH crashes, so that my washes very seldom need me to adjust the pH up or down.

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64169

[Mr Sippy]

Potassium carbonate, anhydrous is water insoluble.
https://www.americanelements.com/potass ... s-584-08-7

[Yummyrum]

Potassium carbonate, anhydrous is water insoluble.
https://www.americanelements.com/potass ... s-584-08-7

Thanks Mr Sippy .

Got any thoughts on viability of using it ?

[Hügelwilli]

When you want a base that is soluble in a wash, the best choices are sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide.
Potassium carbonate will sit in the bottom of the fermenter like calcium carbonate does, good or bad depends on the circumstances and what you want to achieve. Edit: Sorry, this was wrong of course.
Calcium hydroxide is something between: It should solve complete in theory. But in practice something falls out, when you stir it in a ferment. Most likely it is calcium carbonate. You solve calcium hydroxide in a CO2 loaded environment, then a high portion of the calcium combines with the CO2 to form calcium carbonate, which falls out.

[Mr Sippy]

I use potassium carbonate as a buffer in sugar washes. It dissolves completely such that the wash appears clear. I switched when started doing larger wash volumes. Micro-dosing (3-4 doses) works best IMO.

Got the idea from a post here. A bit of a case study comparing PC to CC. Thought I kept a bookmark but seem to have lost it.