> Re: oxalic acid:   Under high heat oxalic acid turns to formic acid
> (with the release of carbon monoxide - CO...

and

> Lifted from the French Belgian list (Aug. 2004).
> Original post from M. J-M Van Dyck below if you ever
> want to check my free translation :
>
> "According to the Merck index, OA crystals have a
> merging point around 101-102C. At this temperature, it
> becomes a liquid and releases its water captured in
> the crystalline structure. It also immediatly starts
> its sublimation.

No problem.  This is not news, and actually, FWIW, Jean-Marie is, or was?, a
member of this list and posts here sometimes.  We correspond occasionally,
and I read his list when I have the time -- and the energy, and I have been
even known to post there (my apologies to native francophones).  There is
often an relationship in timing and content between what shows up there on
[log in to unmask], and what we read here.

Anyhow...  there have been a lot of things said about the acids, some of
them true, many of them false, and some, like this, interesting.

What does it mean?  What does it matter?  I really do not know.  Having been
long aware of this information, some of us have been concerned about the
home-built evaporators, especially the really hot ones, but they seem to
work.

Medhat has been doing some empirical studies on OA, both drizzle and
evaporated, and if I understand the results so far, whatever is happening
chemically, the process seems to work for those he has observed.

I'm sure he will get to the bottom of the question, and , anyhow, the
Europeans have been studying OA for a long time.  Apparently there are no
ill effects from taking liberties with recommended evaporation methods, that
I know about.  Apparently the process is quite tolerant of procedural
variations, and I guess we'll find out in time if some of these guys are
decomposing half or more of their OA.   I do wonder, though, since I know
some of them are using triple the dose that I would.  Maybe they need to.

allen
A Beekeeper's Diary: http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/
Thinking: Up in Smoke?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::