What is Hydrochloric acid?

Hydrochloric acid, or hydrogen chloride, is either a colorless liquid with a pungent odor, or a colorless to slightly yellow gas that can be shipped as a liquefi ed compressed gas. The acid is used in the production of fertilizers, dyes, dyestuffs, artifi cial silk, and paint pig- ments, and in refi ning edible oils and fats. Hydrochloric acid is also used in electroplating, leather tanning, ore refi ning, soap refi ning, petroleum extraction, and pickling of metals, and is used in the photographic, textile, and rubber industries. In addition, hydrochloric acid is used as an antiseptic in toilet bowls against animal pathogenic bacteria, and in food processing as a starch modifi er.\