- oxalic acid
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Chem.a white, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous acid, H2C2O4·2H2O, first discovered in the juice of the wood sorrel species of oxalis and obtained by reacting carbon monoxide with sodium hydroxide or certain carbohydrates with acids or alkalis: used chiefly for bleaching, as a cleanser, and as a laboratory reagent.[1785-95]
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Colourless, crystalline, toxic carboxylic acid found in many plants, especially rhubarb, wood sorrel, and spinach.Because it forms soluble chelates with iron, some of the iron in these plants is not available nutritionally. However, this property makes it useful for removing blood and rust stains, cleaning metals other than iron, and flushing car radiators. Oxalic acid and its salts (oxalates) are used in many chemical processes.* * *
also called Ethanedioic Acid,a colourless, crystalline, toxic organic compound belonging to the family of carboxylic acids. Oxalic acid is widely used as an acid rinse in laundries, where it is effective in removing rust and ink stains because it converts most insoluble iron compounds into a soluble complex ion. For the same reason, it is the chief constituent of many commercial preparations used for removing scale from automobile radiators.The formula of oxalic acid is (C2H2O4); its usual form is that of the crystalline hydrate, (COOH)2·2H2O. Known as a constituent of wood sorrel as early as the 17th century, oxalic acid was first prepared synthetically in 1776. It is manufactured by heating sodium formate in the presence of an alkali catalyst, by oxidizing carbohydrates with nitric acid, by heating sawdust with caustic alkalies, or by fermentation of sugar solutions in the presence of certain molds.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
