Reusing Sodium Metabisulphite? Safe?

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This discussion reminds me of a very old joke I heard, perhaps 70 years ago.

A Scotsman goes to a tire manufacturer and asks the manager, "How much to have this prophylactic vulcanized?" The manager looks at the rubber and says, "It would be about $1.25, but you can buy a new one for $1.50." So the Scotsman thanks the manager and leaves. He comes back a day later with the prophylactic and says, "The Regiment wants it vulcanized." ;)

 
I think i I wanted to test if my K-Meta were good, I'd mix up a one gallon batch and take a whiff (or let the cellar rat take that whiff). Mine always lets me know it's good when mixing.
I tend to agree with that assessment until the SMBS stopped killing bacteria despite having a similar nasal reaction.
 
The SMBS is in powder form
and stored in smaller air-tight tubs.
I discovered its loss of strength/activity 'after' bottling...
* if you know what the free SO2 is you could adjust the treatment to a higher dosage. (ex 110% of the calculator ) Most folks won’t identify sulfite flavor at the legal limit. As a home wine maker most of us don’t even track commercial limits.
* if anyone looks at this problem in the future they should consider sealing the dry powder in plastic vacuum pouches to keep oxygen and humidity out of the product and then put the pouch in a PET or wide mouth canning container as a secondary “everything other than SO2 “ barrier.
 
Is it possible to rejuvenate old, unused SMBS...? I purchased 70kilo by mistake and it has aged out of strength.
I'd like to recharge it if possible. I have a pyrolysis oven and wonder if a heat treatment would do the job...?
Any thoughts or experiences?
heat will destroy it. Bleach will also destroy it. It decomposes slowly over time as it absorbs oxygen and moisture. If it is lumpy it is definitely done. If it is really powdery and sealed properly it might be okay. 70 kilos?
 
heat will destroy it. Bleach will also destroy it. It decomposes slowly over time as it absorbs oxygen and moisture. If it is lumpy it is definitely done. If it is really powdery and sealed properly it might be okay. 70 kilos?
Since the production uses both heat and evaporation it only seems reasonable that it would be possible to reactivate it... Yes, 70 Kilos stored in sealed containers from the original packaging 4 years ago.
 
As a septic system owner, I totally agree that dumping it down the drain would be a bad idea. I don’t dump more than a gallon of any wine chemicals, idophor sanitizer, PBW 5Star, or kmeta.

I would consider using it around the yard to deter nuisance varmints. Since we expect it to degrade in the presence of moisture, 70 kilos might last a year.
 
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