Can acidic and carbonated drinks corrode aluminium bottles?

I like to put lemon or vitamins (those tablets that also create fizzyness) in my water and have been wondering if it is problematic to do so in my aluminium drinking bottle. I wouldn't normally think so, since soft drinks also often come in aluminium cans, but I'm not sure. Are aluminium salts even unhealthy?

57 points · 17 comments · view on lemmy.world

17 Comments

Kolanaki@yiffit.net · 21 pts · 2y

Your aluminum drinking bottle will have a plastic lining to protect it from leeching into things anyway, so it shouldn't really matter.

You should really get a steel one instead, regardless. The lining could tear, leech aluminum into whatever you put in there (even water over time) and make it unsafe to use.

AlecSadler@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 2y (9 replies)

Certain types of beverages can definitely cause some types of cans to erode, yes. You'd have to know whether or not your aluminum bottle has an interior lining or not. There are also different types of linings.

Unfortunately, I only know these things from a friend who works in the canning industry so I can't speak to them with any degree of detail. But some manufacturers get their beverages tested and then have to can them in certain types of cans for that reason.

thonofpy@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y (8 replies)

I have a Quechua bottle that looks slightly yellowish/golden on the inside. Might that be some sort of lining?

skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de · 5 pts · 2y

that's probably just anodized aluminum (not lining)

finestnothing@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y
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finestnothing@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y (5 replies)
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schmidtster@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 2y (4 replies)
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skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 2y (3 replies)

Leave water in those non coated metal containers long enough and it’ll leach from the metal.

in some cosmic sense yeah there will be equilibrium after some time but most of the time it's just called "corrosion"

schmidtster@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 2y (2 replies)

I believe the distinction is necessary, corrosion would be the entire bottle “dissolving” which wouldn’t happen with water. With leaching only a few elements would transfer.

thepianistfroggollum@lemmynsfw.com · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)

What? Corrosion is the surface oxidizing, not the entire thing dissolving.

schmidtster@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 2y

When the surface oxides, that layer get removed, than the surface oxides, that layer disappears. Repeat ad-nauseam until it’s completely gone.

Dissolving is oversimplifying, but eventually the entire thing will disappear with corrosion.

neptune@dmv.social · 14 pts · 2y

If it's a water vessel I'd only put water in it. Aluminum cans are lined with a specially designed polymer liner for the particular food or drink in the can. Your water bottle is likely not. Don't put anything but water in it.

lvxferre@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 2y

As others mentioned there's plastic between the soda and can. You can see it in this NurdRage video. Odds are that your bottle doesn't have it, so it's probably a bad idea to store acidic drinks in it. (Including sodas.)

Aluminium salts can be toxic although I'm not sure on how much Al would leak into your drink.

skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de · 5 pts · 2y (1 reply)

there's a reason beer was the first canned beverage. more acidic things like some sodas corroded aluminum too much until plastic liners were introduced

these fizzy tablets should be ok, but lemon is probably a nope

skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 2y

that said, i wouldn't care either way too much. if you drink black tea you probably ingest more aluminum this way

strawberry@artemis.camp · 5 pts · 2y

not sure, bit soda usually has a liner inside so not directly touching the aluminum

rufus@discuss.tchncs.de · 4 pts · 2y

Yes, there are health risks connected to aluminum bottles and acidic drinks. Aluminium is reactive to acidic drinks.

https://www.foodpackagingforum.org/news/health-risks-of-aluminum-fcms

Buy a stainless steel bottle. (Or glass or plastics)

Regarding the comments with the plastic coating: I don't think that applies to bottles. Maybe soda cans. I've found this, but that doesn't sound like a particularly good article:

https://www.isustainableearth.com/green-products/are-aluminum-water-bottles-safe

zerodawn@leaf.dance · 3 pts · 2y

I'm no expert but my understanding is all drinking cans are lined with plastic to withstand erosion.

https://www.ehow.com/facts_7390219_metal-cans-lined-plastic-coating_.html

OptimusPhillip@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Aluminum soda cans have plastic linings, because the acids can dissolve the aluminum. What that means for your drinking bottle, I don't know.