Everything about Sodium Nitrate totally explained
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Sodium nitrate is the
chemical compound with the
formula NaNO
3. This
salt, also known as "Chile saltpeter" (to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter,
potassium nitrate), is a white solid which is very soluble in
water. The mineral form is also known as
nitratine or
soda nitre.
Sodium nitrate is used as an ingredient in
fertilizers,
explosives, and in
solid rocket propellants, as well as in
glass and
pottery enamels; the compound has been mined extensively for those purposes.
The mining of Chile saltpeter was such a profitable business that three nations,
Chile,
Peru, and
Bolivia fought over the richest deposits in the
War of the Pacific. The world's largest natural deposits of caliche ore were in the
Atacama desert of
Chile, and many deposits were mined for over a century, until the 1940s, when its value declined dramatically in the first decades of the twentieth century (see
Haber Process).
Chile still has the largest reserves of caliche, with active mines in such locations as Pedro de Valdivia, Maria Elena and Pampa Blanca. Sodium nitrate,
potassium nitrate,
sodium sulfate and
iodine are all obtained by the processing of caliche. The former Chilean saltpeter mining communities of
Humberstone and Santa Laura were declared Unesco World Heritage sites in 2005.
Sodium nitrate is also synthesized industrially by neutralizing
nitric acid with
soda ash.
Applications
Sodium nitrate was used extensively as a fertilizer and a raw material for the manufacture of gunpowder in the late nineteenth century.
Sodium nitrate has
antimicrobial properties when used as a
food preservative. It is found naturally in
leafy green vegetables.
Sodium nitrate shouldn't be confused with the related compound,
sodium nitrite. The presence of sodium nitrite in food is controversial due to the development of
nitrosamines when the food, primarily
bacon, is cooked at high temperatures. Its usage is carefully regulated in the production of cured products; in the United States, the concentration in finished products is limited to 200 ppm, and is usually lower. The nitrate compound itself isn't harmful, however, and is among the antioxidants found in fresh vegetables.
It can be used in the production of
nitric acid by combining it with
sulfuric acid and subsequent separation through
fractional distillation of the nitric acid, leaving behind a residue of
sodium bisulfate. Hobbyist gold refiners use sodium nitrate to make a hybrid
aqua regia that dissolves gold and other metals.
Less common applications include its use as a substitute oxidizer used in fireworks as a replacement for
potassium nitrate commonly found in
black powder and as a component in instant cold packs.
Because sodium nitrate can be used as a
Phase Change Material it may be used for
heat transfer in
solar power plants.
Notes and references
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sodium Nitrate'.
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