Phosphoric acid

[smokeyoase420]

I was curious is instead of lye if you could use phosphoric acid since it's a strong base at around 12 ph

 

[bezevo]

i think the clue you missed is phosphoric "ACID"

 

[smokeyoase420]

No I meant what I said

 

[bezevo]

Phosphoric acid - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[bezevo]

this link might help you

What is the pH value of phosphoric acid?_Chemicalbook

 

[smokeyoase420]

But it's saying it should be 1 or 2 on the ph scale but it's reading 14 on mine

 

[blig-blug]

Either you did something wrong or what you have is not phosphoric acid. Either way, whatever you have can't be used in place of lye. If it's phosphoric acid it can't take the place of a base, and if it's basic it's not phosphoric acid but some unknown substance. If you are unsure about the identity of a substance, or it behaves in ways that point to it being something else (e.g. a supposed acid shows a basic pH), don't use it.

I'm moving this thread to homework detention. This is not the place to learn what an acid and a base are, or how to use pH paper. There are many resources online for that. Please read up on acids and bases, and you will understand why one can't substitute the other.

 

[Varallo]

But it's saying it should be 1 or 2 on the ph scale but it's reading 14 on mine

Dilute your acid a bit and then use these papers.