55 Gallon Food Grade Barrel Question

[HWDylan]

I recently bought a nice white 55 gallon food grade barrel from a local seller. It is stamped on the bottom with the HDPE 2 recycle label.

I am not 100% what was in the barrel before buying it but it smells fragrant like a soap. I have let bleach water sit in it for 24hrs followed by 24hrs of baking soda water followed by vinegar water for 4 days. I have since flushed the barrel out with hundreds of gallons of water from the garden hose.

I can still smell the original smell that was in it. How safe is this to use? I have read the HDPE 2 should not absorb or leach anything in any appreciable amount but I have also seen people saying that it does.

Just looking for some input from the chemistry folks here.

Thanks.

 

[Cory]

I recently bought a nice white 55 gallon food grade barrel from a local seller. It is stamped on the bottom with the HDPE 2 recycle label.

I am not 100% what was in the barrel before buying it but it smells fragrant like a soap. I have let bleach water sit in it for 24hrs followed by 24hrs of baking soda water followed by vinegar water for 4 days. I have since flushed the barrel out with hundreds of gallons of water from the garden hose.

I can still smell the original smell that was in it. How safe is this to use? I have read the HDPE 2 should not absorb or leach anything in any appreciable amount but I have also seen people saying that it does.

Just looking for some input from the chemistry folks here.

Thanks.

It was probably soap of some sort then. Hdpe is a great choice. If your putting ro water in it id run activated carbon in it too for the first few batches.

 

[HWDylan]

Oh the carbon is a good idea. Thank you.

So you think it'll be ok even if there was a soap stored in it? I

 

[Cory]

Oh the carbon is a good idea. Thank you.

So you think it'll be ok even if there was a soap stored in it? I

Id use it but id run carbon with it. Its no gaurantee its safe though. You can also let it sit in the water a week then dump that water to reduce smells.

 

[Gareth elliott]

If the perfume was the result of holding soap or cleanser could try filling with water and leaving for x time with before and after ph readings. As the sulfates will effect ph. Calcium Oxide is another treatment option if this was the case as is used in waste treatment to remove sulfates and does not degrade HDPE.

 

[Cory]

If the perfume was the result of holding soap or cleanser could try filling with water and leaving for x time with before and after ph readings. As the sulfates will effect ph. Calcium Oxide is another treatment option if this was the case as is used in waste treatment to remove sulfates and does not degrade HDPE.

Calcium oxide, as in limewater? Thats a good idea too. Ive though of uzing ozone too as that surely would destroy the smell but may degrade the plastic.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Calcium oxide, as in limewater? Thats a good idea too. Ive though of uzing ozone too as that surely would destroy the smell but may degrade the plastic.

Yes lime water .

 

[HWDylan]

So basically dump kalk in there? I can do that no prob.

Thanks for the pointers guys

 

[Cory]

So basically dump kalk in there? I can do that no prob.

Thanks for the pointers guys

You could yeah. Im not sure what kalk would do good or bad. Maybe ask Randy

 

[HWDylan]

You could yeah. Im not sure what kalk would do good or bad. Maybe ask Randy

Kalk is lime water.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I recently bought a nice white 55 gallon food grade barrel from a local seller. It is stamped on the bottom with the HDPE 2 recycle label.

I am not 100% what was in the barrel before buying it but it smells fragrant like a soap. I have let bleach water sit in it for 24hrs followed by 24hrs of baking soda water followed by vinegar water for 4 days. I have since flushed the barrel out with hundreds of gallons of water from the garden hose.

I can still smell the original smell that was in it. How safe is this to use? I have read the HDPE 2 should not absorb or leach anything in any appreciable amount but I have also seen people saying that it does.

Just looking for some input from the chemistry folks here.

Thanks.

I wouldn't be concerned about a perfume type of smell. Such organics are not typically especially toxic and you can detect smells of many compounds at quite low levels.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If the perfume was the result of holding soap or cleanser could try filling with water and leaving for x time with before and after ph readings. As the sulfates will effect ph. Calcium Oxide is another treatment option if this was the case as is used in waste treatment to remove sulfates and does not degrade HDPE.

Sulfate? What are you getting at? Sulfate itself is not any concern at all. It's the third most abundant ion in seawater.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Sulfate? What are you getting at? Sulfate itself is not any concern at all. It's the third most abundant ion in seawater.

Was referring to the surfactants in soaps and detergents.

 

[DFR]

Nice to know! Hopefully I’ll be setting up an actual water station this winter as opposed to making water as I need it. I plan on going with similar food grade barrels and like everyone else, original use of these barrels were also a concern of mine.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Was referring to the surfactants in soaps and detergents.

Ah, I see. FWIW, charged molecules like that won't appreciably penetrate polyethylene. Some will stick to the surface.

 

[HWDylan]

Thanks for the input Randy. This is just what I wanted to hear.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

 

[HWDylan]

So update to this...

I have put the barrel into use after much cleaning and flushing with water. My last step was to fill it with RODI and then dump it just to really do my best to get it reef safe. Its been about of a month of having RODI in it and my TDS meter I have reads the water in the barrel at around 250tds where as the water going into it is 0TDS.

Clearly SOMETHING is leaching out of the plastic but how concerning is this? Should I ditch it? I have been using it at ATO water for my QT system but have not implemented it into my full reef.

Be interested to hear Randy's take.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'd be surprised if that much of anything can leach out of HDPE, since things that dissolve into it will generally not be ionic and generally not imopact TDS. Perfumes, for example, will not impact TDS.

If you cannot create a foam by frothing it by hand, I'd use it.

 

[Dan D]

Acetone wash?
Pretty much removes all organic molecules