Abstract
Consumption of nickel rich liquids and foods pose a risk to human health, possibly causing reactions such as dermatitis. This study examines the amount of nickel that leaches out of grade 304 stainless steel cups with respect to time. The hypothesis of this experiment is that if given enough time, the liquids will react to the nickel in the stainless steel cups, and then nickel will leach out into the cup’s contents. The null hypothesis being that if the cups, since they are not given enough time and/or do not react to the nickel in the stainless steel cups, will not leach nickel into the cup’s contents. 30 grade 304 stainless steel cups were tested in this experiment: 15 containing 300 mL of tap water and 15 containing 300 mL of white distilled vinegar. Using the equation of a calibration curve of Absorbance vs. Known Nickel Amounts to calculate the amount of nickel in the liquids, samples were taken from each of the 30 cups at 8, 24, and 32 hours. At 8 hours, on average the cups containing tap water leached 5.16 μg/mL of nickel, and the cups containing vinegar leached 0 μg/mL of nickel. At 24 hours, on average the cups containing tap water leached 24.5 μg/mL of nickel, and the cups containing vinegar leached 110. μg/mL of nickel. The results of 32 hours were not included in the final analysis because of uncertainties. Although the final analysis of this data proved significant, there were statistical uncertainties.
Recommended Citation
Quan, Caroline
(2019)
"The Effect of Vinegar and Tap Water on the Release of Nickel in Grade 304 Stainless Steel Cups,"
Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science: Vol. 16:
Iss.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/jscas/vol16/iss2/7