[Jewelry making - Article 00043] - Re: [Orchid] Mold growing in pickle pot

[Kelley Dragon]

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Kathy -

    Mold (& other forms of "low life") can grow anywhere! When I was
    flying helicopters, we had to put an algicide additive in the fuel
    to prevent algae contamination. Citric acid is a lot more attractive
    to life than kerosene (JP4). 

    I found this information at:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid 

        History 

        The discovery of citric acid has been credited to the 8th
        century alchemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Geber). Medieval scholars in
        Europe were aware of the acidic nature of lemon and lime juices;
        such knowledge is recorded in the 13th century encyclopedia
        Speculum Majus (The Great Mirror), compiled by Vincent of
        Beauvais. Citric acid was first isolated in 1784 by the Swedish
        chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who crystallized it from lemon
        juice. Industrial-scale citric acid production began in 1860,
        based on the Italian citrus fruit industry. In 1893, C. Wehmer
        discovered that Penicillium mold could produce citric acid from
        sugar. However, microbial production of citric acid did not
        become industrially important until World War I disrupted Italian
        citrus exports. In 1917, the American food chemist James Currie
        discovered that certain strains of the mold Aspergillus niger
        could be efficient citric acid producers, and Pfizer began
        industrial-level production using this technique two years
        later. [edit]Production 

        In this production technique, which is still the major
        industrial route to citric acid used today, cultures of
        Aspergillus niger are fed on sucrose to produce citric acid.
        After the mold is filtered out of the resulting solution, citric
        acid is isolated by precipitating it with lime (calcium
        hydroxide) to yield calcium citrate salt, from which citric acid
        is regenerated by treatment with sulfuric acid. [edit]Krebs cycle 


        Main article: citric acid cycle 

        Citric acid is one of a series of compounds involved in the
        physiological oxidation of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to
        carbon dioxide and water. 

        This series of chemical reactions is central to nearly all
        metabolic reactions, and is the source of two-thirds of the
        food-derived energy in higher organisms. It was discovered by the
        Sir Hans Adolf Krebs. Krebs received the 1953 Nobel Prize in
        Physiology or Medicine for the discovery. The series of reactions
        is properly known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle, but it is also
        known as the citric acid cycle or the Krebs cycle.

    Even acetic acid/kerosene/vinegar can wind up being a great growth
    medium for Something! They've all got carbon atoms in the molecules.
    Sparex (sodium hydrogen sulfate) and nitric acid (HNO3) are not as
    conducive to the growth of most life that we know, which is why you
    won't run into this type of problem. (Environmental issues, health
    issues are another story...) 

    I would recommend the next time you need to mix new pickle, first do
    this: 

    1) Empty the crockpot & rinse well (really, really well). 

    2) Use a dilute solution of bleach to fill the crockpot to the
    rim...let the cover soak in a similar solution. 

    3) Let crockpot & cover soak for at least a half hour. 

    4) Rinse crockpot & cover (really, really well). 

    5) Put absolutely fresh acetic acid into the crockpot. 

    If the crockpot gets contaminated again, then you have the little
    beasties growing in crevices you can't clean out. Time for a new
    crockpot! 

    To the chemists out there, please correct me if I'm off the mark! 

best regards,
Kelley
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