Can hydrochloric acid be used to clean scale?

Hydrochloric acid is a chemical that many people are familiar with. People will be exposed to related chemicals when they enter junior high school. We all know that hydrochloric acid is corrosive and has a strong decomposition effect on calcium and metals. Scale is a product that people see in their daily life and work. Scale can cause great waste to people's lives and work, especially in some factories, which spend a lot of money every year to remove scale. Scale has a great impact, so how to remove scale becomes a big problem. Some people say that hydrochloric acid is corrosive, so it should be possible to use hydrochloric acid to clean scale. Is this statement correct? Why?

The main components of scale are calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide, which can undergo chemical changes with acids. Based on this principle, pour some vinegar (the main ingredient is CH3COOH, organic acid - acetic acid) into the kettle and warm it on the fire. You will see dense small bubbles appear on the scale and the scale will be shattered. Scale can also be removed using dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl, a strong acid). Dilute hydrochloric acid is more capable of "digesting" calcium carbonate than vinegar. However, you must be very careful when operating it to avoid corroding your handles with the hydrochloric acid. You should know that hydrochloric acid and aluminum (Al) react easily. If it is an enameled kettle and the enamel has not fallen off, it is of course better to use dilute hydrochloric acid to remove scale. It will be easier to remove the scale from the thermos bottle in this way.

Scale ingredients: calcium carbonate (CaCO3), magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2), magnesium carbonate (MgCO3), calcium sulfate (CaSO4), barium sulfate (BaSO4), silicon dioxide (SiO2), iron (Fe2O3 & Fe3O4)

Cause of scale: Ca(HCO3)2 and Mg(HCO3)2 decompose in boiling water to release CO2.

Descaling chemicals: Dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl) is commonly used, and vinegar can sometimes be used.

Principle: Hydrochloric acid reacts with insoluble CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2 to form soluble salts.

2HCl+CaCO3=CaCl2+H2O+CO2↑ (same chemical equation as the one used to make CO2 in the laboratory)

2HCl+Mg(OH)2=MgCl2+2H2O

Note: Do not soak in acid for too long, otherwise it will react with the metal material of the kettle and damage the kettle. After descaling, rinse with water immediately and wipe with a dry cloth.

Can hydrochloric acid be used to clean scale? Looking at the introduction above, we have learned that when hydrochloric acid and scale are put together, a chemical reaction will occur, releasing carbon dioxide, which can effectively remove scale. Scale has a great impact on people, so when using hydrochloric acid to remove scale, you also need to pay attention to safety issues, so that scale will no longer affect our lives.