Aqueous Extract of Ravenna Grass (Saccharum ravennae) as Rust Remover

Ranz Harvie C. Almaida

Anna Alexis A. Andir

Maundy C. Landas

Noelagie C. Origenes

Ian Jesse SJ. Sales

Robegayle B. Seno

Grade 9 – Rutherford

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

in Research III

Laguna Science Integrated High School

Brgy.Maitim, Bay, Laguna

July 3, 2019

Maria Leonora B. Villanueva

Research III Teacher

 Aqueous Extract of Ravenna Grass (Saccharum ravennae) as Rust Remover

For over decades, hundreds of people, including mechanics, plumbers and even simply

homeowners have been using commercially branded rust removers in their everyday work and

lives. According to Marin (2016), rust removers are chemical solutions/primers that can be

applied directly into the iron or iron alloy surface, to convert iron oxides into a protective barrier.

These rust removers, like said, have continuously helped people in maintaining the natural state

of metals, keeping the quality of it at its highest state. These rust removers contain phosphoric

acid (H3PO4) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) in which reacts with rust itself, removing it from the

metal, otherwise layered upon the metal, protecting it and creating a barrier that fights off rust.

Here, it is said that rust removers are very important in the industry, not just because it can

remove the rust in any metal, but also, it can make their job easy and the other metals can be free

from the contaminants held by rust itself.

Just like these commercial brands, according to Memidex (2012), Ravenna Grass

contains both phosphoric and sulfuric acid, which are essential in removing rust. Other than

being used as an ornament, there are no recent findings of other uses of S. ravennae. With the

fact that it is a weed, there are a lot of ways to control its growth, whether mechanical, cultural,

biological or chemical (Daniel, 2019), which then proves its lack of usage when it comes to

manipulation of its H3PO4 and H2SO4content.

Background of the Study

Today, there are now many commercially branded rust removers that have different types

of acids in it that is harmful for both humans and environment. For example, most of the

commercially branded rust removers these days has oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is a type of acid that

can cause burns, nausea, severe gastroenteritis and vomiting, shock and convulsions. If worst,

this acid could be fatal for humans if accidentally ingested for as little as 5 to 15 grams.

According to the U.S. Natural Library of Medicine (2009),it will only take less than a teaspoon

of this substance to kill an adult and about a pinch to kill a child. Therefore, creating a rust

remover that contains oxalic acid is not a good choice.

Also, the scent of the rust remover can also be harmful because you can inhale the acids

which can lead to the malfunction of the lungs. Though, manufacturers try different ways to

improve the products they make, most of it ends up using expensive, or defective chemicals.

Using Coca-Cola as a rust remover, though it may look like it actually removed the rust,

according to Kazmierczak (2014), Norbert Pienta, a professor at the University of Georgia had

said that iron oxide — if the oxide is exchanged with phosphate, it is turned into ferric phosphate

by the phosphoric acid. It makes the rust look less orange, but the rust is still there. Moreover,

the said treatment can be costly because if you need a liter or more of cola to clean up a toilet, a

quart of rust remover can be bought at the same price but more effective than cola. It seems as an

interesting and cost-effective idea but using a sugary substance to remove rust is not the smartest

of ideas. Citric acid works but the sugar in Coca-Cola can be dangerous, as it attracts bacteria.

There are many options that are better to use.

 According to UCSB Science Lane (2017), some acids remove rust (oxides), while others

cause rust. Most acids will etch metal whether they cause rust or remove it. H3PO4 is one type of

acid that removes rust by converting it (iron III oxide) to a form which can be dissolved in water.

Most other strong acids cause rust. In addition, some rust removers contain hydrofluoric acid

(HF), which is extremely dangerous, since it penetrates the skin and destroys the bone, and can

cause heart attacks without even feeling its presence.

Also, according to NEISS (2010), there are an estimated total of 1,995 people that are

injured because of rust removers. Most of them are children ages 7 to 11. It is because of the

improper handling of the materials used, accidently spilling it on their skin. The most common

injury is a hand burn, while the rarest is malfunctioning of the lungs. The number of children

injured are 775.

Statement of the Problem

This study will be conducted to produce a rust remover from Ravenna Grass.

Specifically, it aims to:

 focus on the effectiveness of S. ravennae as rust remover,

 utilize its unused parts, and

 produce a lower-priced product.

Hypothesis

1. There is no significant difference between the chemical properties of rust remover from

Ravenna Grass as compared to commercial brand of rust remover in terms of pH value.

2. There is no significant difference between the sensory attributes of the rust remover from

Ravenna Grass as compared to commercial brand of rust remover in terms of

effectiveness of rust remover.

Aqueous Extract of Ravenna Grass (Saccharum ravennae) as Rust Remover

Conseptual Framework

IV DV
T1 : 25% (25 mL SS + 75 mL H2O)
of aqueous extract of Ravenna grass

T2 : 50% (50 mL SS + 50 mL H2O)

of aqueous extract of Ravenna grass
pH value
T3 : 75% (75 mL SS + 25 mL H2O)
of aqueous extract of Ravenna grass acidity

T4 :100% of aqueous extract of amount of rust removed

Ravenna grass
shelf life
POSITIVE CONTROL:
Commercially-Branded Rust
remover

NEGATIVE CONTROL :Water

Only
Hypothesis

1. There is no significant difference between the chemical properties of rust remover from

Ravenna Grass as compared to commercial brand of rust remover in terms of pH value.

2. There is no significant difference between the sensory attributes of the rust remover from

Ravenna Grass as compared to commercial brand of rust remover in terms of

effectiveness of rust remover.

 Aqueous Extract of Ravenna Grass (Saccharum ravennae) as Rust Remover

Conseptual Framework

IV DV
T1 : 25% (25 mL SS + 75 mL H2O)
of aqueous extract of Ravenna grass

T2 : 50% (50 mL SS + 50 mL H2O)

of aqueous extract of Ravenna grass
pH value
T3 : 75% (75 mL SS + 25 mL H2O)
of aqueous extract of Ravenna grass acidity

T4 :100% of aqueous extract of amount of rust removed

Ravenna grass
shelf life
POSITIVE CONTROL:
Commercially-Branded Rust
remover

NEGATIVE CONTROL :Water

Only
Significance of the Study

With the usage of S. ravennae, we tend to utilize it as a natural rust remover to make it

more useful, since it is more than often seen as a weed. Moreover, we aim to produce a less

acidic rust remover compared to commercially branded ones, while making sure it is as effective

as them, or if not then more. It benefits households, carpenters, and other people who tend to

make their improvised rust removers. It is safe for the user and non-corrosive to steel.

Scope and Limitation

This study focuses on the effectiveness of S. ravennae as a rust remover on metals. There

will be four treatments, three with different amounts of Ravenna Grass solution, and a control.

The results will be compared with a commercial brand of rust remover on August to October.

Risk and Safety

While conducting an experiment involving materials with harmful substances, we must

ensure the safety protection against any harm we may encounter, that is essential to manage the

risks for us researchers. Health and safety is a discipline concerned with ensuring that the risks in

the changing workplace are properly controlled. Risk assessment requires identification of

potential hazards and assessing the likelihood and possible impact of each hazard.

Personal protective equipment will be worn during the conduct of the experiment, such

as, but not limited to, safety glasses, and gloves suggested to be made from nitrile rubber.

Researchers need to wash their hands thoroughly before and after the experiment, as well as to

avoid eating and drinking when utilizing the material to maintain a strategic distance from

mishaps.
REFERENCES

Ahmadi, M. K. and Pfeifer, B. A., (2016). Rust Removal Experiments. Bio-protocol 6(7): e1776.

DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.1776

Daniel, K., (2019). Killing Grasses in ‘Grasses’? How to control grasses in non-grassy

ornamental plants, Purdue Landscape Report. Retrieved from

https://www.purduelandscapereport.org/article/killing-grasses-in-grasses-how-to-control-

grasses-in-non-grassy-ornamental-plants/.

Kazmierczak, J., (2014). She Blinded Me with Science: Why can Coca-Cola be used to clean

rust, TheRed&Black. Retrieved from

https://www.redandblack.com/uganews/science_health/she-blinded-me-with-science-

why-can-coca-cola-be/article_a3385d64-a325-11e3-9b52-001a4bcf6878.html

Marin, L., (2016). Rust remover in English. Retrieved from

https://glosbe.com/en/en/rust%20remover.

Memidex, (2013). wool grass (plume grass). Retrieved from

https://www.memidex.com/ravenna-grass.

National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, (2010). All injury. Retrieved from

https://www.cspc.gov.

UCSB Science Line, (2017). If rust is found on metal, does acid eliminate the rust and if so what

kind of acid. Retrieved from

https://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1933.
U.S. Natural Library of Medicine, (2009). HDSB: Oxalic acid, Toxicology Data Network.

Retrieved from https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-

bin/sis/search2/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+1100