Concentrate for preparing a sealing solution for sealing mail pieces using tap water and method of making same
View Patent ↗A powder and gel concentrate for a sealing solution is provided. The concentrate is comprised of a biocide, dye and acid buffer. This concentrate can be hydrated or dissolved using standard tap (mineralized) water to produce a sealing solution. The acid buffer keeps the minerals in the tap water suspended in solution, thereby preventing the solid scale (mineral build-up) that would otherwise clog the filters of a sealing system.
1. A method for preparing a concentrate of a sealing solution for use in sealing mail pieces, the method comprising:
combining an acid buffer, biocide solution and dye to form a combined mixture, the acid buffer yielding a pH of between approximately 2 and 5 when hydrated with tap water, to form the concentrate of the sealing solution wherein the acid buffer is a citric acid/sodium citrate buffer, a potassium hydrogen phthalate/hydrochloric acid buffer, a citric acid/sodium hydrogen phosphate buffer, an acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer, or a hydrochloric acid/sodium citrate buffer.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
drying the combined mixture to form a dried combined mixture of the sealing solution.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
triturating the dried combined mixture.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
combining an anti-scalant with the acid buffer, biocide solution and dye.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biocide solution is a blend of alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chlorides.
6. The method of claim 2 or 3 further comprising:
encapsulating the dried combined mixture in a water soluble gel pack.
7. A concentrate that can be used to prepare a sealing solution for use in sealing mail pieces using tap water, the concentrate comprising:
9 to less than 100 (wt %) of an acid buffer;
0 to 100 ppm of a dye;
10-800 ppb of a biocide; and
0-80 (wt %) water wherein the acid buffer is selected from the group consisting of citric acid/sodium citrate, potassium hydrogen phthalate/hydrochloric acid, citric acid/sodium hydrogen phosphate, acetic acid/sodium acetate, and hydrochloric acid/sodium citrate.
8. The concentrate of claim 7 , further comprising:
0-10 (wt %) of an anti-scalant.