Sticky solution
Question: I have a friend who uses molasses to clean rust off old iron items
collected from the bush. The rusty iron article is placed in a jar of molasses
solution (nine parts water, one part molasses) and left for two weeks. After
this time, the article comes out clean and almost shiny.
What is happening here?
Answer: Molasses contains chelating agents. These are made of molecules that
are shaped a bit like the claws of a crab—the word chelation comes
directly from the Latin word chele, meaning claw. They can envelop
metal atoms on the surface…
