Characteristics
It is a clear to slightly cloudy liquid ranging from colorless to light yellow. Hydrochloric acid is a corrosive liquid at any concentration; it is easily identified by its characteristically irritating odor.
Applications
It is used for the production of high fructose which in turn is used as a sweetener in the soft drink, candy, and beer industries; and widely used for the drawing and etching of metals.
It is used in the pharmaceutical industry for drug production, manufacture of pigments and dyes, and production of ferric chloride which in turn is used in the lithographic industry, among others.
It is used extensively for the manufacture of plastics and rubbers, in the oil industry, and in ceramics.
Product handling
Hydrochloric acid is transported in tanker truck tanks made of carbon steel with a rubberized or glass fiber reinforced coating, and in jugs or drums of high density polyethylene.