Potassium nitrate
- CAS No.
- 7757-79-1
- Chemical Name:
- Potassium nitrate
- Synonyms
- KNO3;SALTPETER;NITRATE NITROGEN;POTASSIUM NITRATE PLANT CELL CULTURE*TES TED;XSJ;nitre;collo-bo;vicknite;saltpetre;kaliinitras
- CBNumber:
- CB9854301
- Molecular Formula:
- KNO3
- Molecular Weight:
- 101.1032
- MOL File:
- 7757-79-1.mol
- MSDS File:
- SDS
- Modify Date:
- 2024/2/18 17:28:16
| Melting point | 334 °C (lit.) |
|---|---|
| Boiling point | 100 °C750 mm Hg |
| Density | 1.00 g/mL at 20 °C |
| Flash point | 400°C |
| storage temp. | Store at RT. |
| solubility | H2O: 1 M at 20 °C, clear, colorless |
| form | Solid |
| Specific Gravity | 2.109 |
| color | white |
| PH | 5.0-7.5 (50g/l, H2O, 20℃) |
| Odor | odorless, cooling pungent salty taste |
| Water Solubility | 320 g/L (20 ºC) |
| Sensitive | Hygroscopic |
| Merck | 14,7648 |
| Dielectric constant | 5（0.0℃） |
| Stability | Stable. Strong oxidizer - contact with combustible material may cause fire. Incompatible with combustible materials, strong reducing agents. |
| LogP | -0.129 (est) |
| CAS DataBase Reference | 7757-79-1(CAS DataBase Reference) |
| EPA Substance Registry System | Potassium nitrate (7757-79-1) |
SAFETY
Risk and Safety Statements
| Symbol(GHS) |  GHS03 |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal word | Warning | |||||||||
| Hazard statements | H272 | |||||||||
| Precautionary statements | P210-P220-P280-P370+P378-P501 | |||||||||
| Hazard Codes | O,Xi,Xn | |||||||||
| Risk Statements | 8-36/38-36/37/38-22 | |||||||||
| Safety Statements | 26-17-36-7-24/25 | |||||||||
| RIDADR | UN 3264 8/PG 3 | |||||||||
| WGK Germany | 1 | |||||||||
| RTECS | TT3700000 | |||||||||
| TSCA | Yes | |||||||||
| HS Code | 2834 21 00 | |||||||||
| HazardClass | 5.1 | |||||||||
| PackingGroup | III | |||||||||
| Toxicity | LD50 orally in rabbits: 1.166 g anion/kg, Dollahite, Rowe, Southwest. Vet. 27, 246 (1974) | |||||||||
| NFPA 704 |
|
Potassium nitrate price More Price(53)
| Manufacturer | Product number | Product description | CAS number | Packaging | Price | Updated | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sigma-Aldrich(India) | P8394 | Potassium nitrate ReagentPlus?, ≥99.0% | 7757-79-1 | 500G | ₹5239.3 | 2022-06-14 | Buy |
| Sigma-Aldrich(India) | P8394 | Potassium nitrate ReagentPlus?, ≥99.0% | 7757-79-1 | 1KG | ₹11788.43 | 2022-06-14 | Buy |
| Sigma-Aldrich(India) | PHR2203 | Potassium Nitrate Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material | 7757-79-1 | 1G | ₹58119.43 | 2022-06-14 | Buy |
| Sigma-Aldrich(India) | P8394 | Potassium nitrate ReagentPlus?, ≥99.0% | 7757-79-1 | 2.5KG | ₹19809.75 | 2022-06-14 | Buy |
| Sigma-Aldrich(India) | P8291 | Potassium nitrate BioReagent, suitable for cell culture, suitable for plant cell culture | 7757-79-1 | 500G | ₹6484.18 | 2022-06-14 | Buy |
Potassium nitrate Chemical Properties,Uses,Production
Description
Potassium nitrate is a solid, colorless, crystalline ionic compound that exists as the mineral niter.Potassium nitrate is also known as saltpeter. The name saltpeter comes from the Latin sal petrae, meaning salt of stone or salt of Petra. he term saltpeter or Chilean saltpeter is also used for sodium nitrate, NaNO3.
Chemical Properties
Potassium nitrate is an odorless, flammable, water-soluble, white or colorless crystals with saline taste that melt at 337°C. Used in pyrotechnics, explosives, and matches, as a fertilizer, and as an analytical reagent.
Physical properties
Colorless transparent crystals or white granular or crystalline powder;rhombohedral structure; density 2.11 g/cm3at 20°C; melts at 334°C; decomposes at 400°C evolving oxygen; soluble in cold water, 13.3 g/100mL at 0°C;highly soluble in boiling water, 247 g/100mL at 100°C; lowers the temperature of water on dissolution; very slightly soluble in ethanol; soluble in glycerol and liquid ammonia.
History
Saltpeter’s most prominent use in human history is as the principal ingredient in gunpowder.The potassium nitrate used in gunpowder was originally obtained from natural mineral deposits of niter. Small quantities formed as efflorescence deposits on damp stone walls were identified as early as 2000 b.c.e. in Sumerian writings. As the use of black powder expanded with the development of weapons, the demand for saltpeter exceeded supply. This was exacerbated during times of war. To meet the demand for saltpeter to produce black powder, a saltpeter industry developed that followed prescribed methods to produce large quantities of saltpeter. The method depended on processing dirt obtained from areas where nitrates would naturally form. These were areas in which animal waste had accumulated such as the dirt floors of barns, stables, herding pens, caves, or cellars. The ammonia compounds in the urine and fecal wastes in these areas underwent nitrifi cation to produce nitrates, which combined with potassium in the soil to form saltpeter.
Uses
Potassium Nitrate is a preservative and color fixative in meats which exists as colorless prisms or white granules or powder. it has a solubility of 1 g in 3 ml of water at 25°c. see nitrate.
Definition
ChEBI: The inorganic nitrate salt of potassium.
Production Methods
Potassium nitrate may be produced by several methods. It is made commercially by reacting potassium chloride with nitric acid at high temperature.Nitrosyl chloride, a product obtained in the reaction, is converted into chlorine in this manufacturing process. Also, nitric acid is partly recycled in the process. The reactions are (Dancy, W.B. 1981. Potassium Compounds. In Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 3rd. ed. Pp. 939-42. New York: Wiley Interscience):
3KCl + 4HNO3 →3KNO3+ Cl2+ NOCl + 2H2O
2NOCl + 4HNO3→6NO2+ Cl2+ 2H2O
4NO2+ O2+ 2H2O →4HNO3
Potassium nitrate also can be prepared by mixing a hot saturated solution of potassium chloride and sodium nitrate. The reaction is:
K++ Clˉ+ Na++ NO3ˉ→NaCl↓+ K++ NO3ˉ
Sodium chloride is less soluble than KCl, NaNo3and KNo3. It separates out by crystallization. The remaining solution is cooled to ambient tempera-ture. Potassium nitrate crystallizes out.
World Health Organization (WHO)
Potassium nitrate was formerly used as a diuretic. Its use for this purpose is now considered obsolete but it is still available in at least one country for the correction of potassium deficiency. It is aslo widely permitted at concentrations of the order of 5% in proprietary toothpastes. In some countries the drug has been banned due to a potential carcinogenic risk arising from the excessive use of nitrates and their transformation to nitrosamines.
General Description
A white to dirty gray crystalline solid. Water soluble. Noncombustible, but accelerates the burning of combustible materials. If large quantities are involved in fire or the combustible material is finely divided an explosion may result. May explode under prolonged exposure to heat or fire. Toxic oxides of nitrogen are produced in fires. Used in solid propellants, explosives, fertilizers.
Air & Water Reactions
Soluble in water.
Reactivity Profile
Potassium nitrate mixed with alkyl esters may explode, owing to the formation of alkyl nitrates; mixtures with phosphorus, tin (II) chloride, or other reducing agents may react explosively [Bretherick 1979. p. 108-109]. Powdered antimony mixed with Potassium nitrate explodes when heated [Mellor 9:282 1946-47]. A mixture of antimony trisulfide and Potassium nitrate explodes at a red heat [Mellor 9:524. 1946-47]. Arsenic disulfide forms explosive mixtures when mixed with Potassium nitrate, [Mellor 9:270.1946-47]. A mixture of sodium acetate and Potassium nitrate may cause an explosion [Pieters 1957. p. 30]. A mixture of Potassium nitrate and sodium hypophosphite constitutes a powerful explosive [Mellor 8:881. 1946-47]. A mixture of powdered zirconium and Potassium nitrate explodes when heated above the melting point [Mellor 7:116. 1946-47].
Hazard
Dangerous fire and explosion risk when shocked or heated, or in contact with organic mate- rials, strong oxidizing agent.
Health Hazard
Exposure can cause mild irritation of eyes, nose and throat.
Agricultural Uses
Potassium nitrate (KNO3) is a potassium salt of nitric acid, also known as saltpeter or nitrate of potash. It is a white crystalline salt which occurs naturally in nitre or saltpeter. It can be used as fertilizer for normal application and fertigation. Potassium (44% K2O) and nitrogen (13 %) are the constituents of NK fertilizers, which serve as a source of potassium, where extra chloride is not desired.
The agricultural grade of potassium nitrate is freeflowing and non-caking, with a particle size in the range of 1500 to 400 microns.
Potassium nitrate, which is slightly hygroscopic and granulated, can be spread on soil by trucks, fertilizer distributors or by aerial spraying. In a mixed fertilizer, a powdered grade of nitrate of potash does not cake. Potassium nitrate is made by the reaction of potassium chloride with nitric acid as: The nitrate of potash forms an easily breakable crust on top. It is chemically neutral and its nitrogen and potassium oxide ratio is roughly 1:3. It has been used successfully as a source of nitrogen and potassium for tobacco, tomato, potato, corn, citrus and carnations.
Industrial uses
Potassium nitrate is also called niter and saltpeter,although these usually refer to the nativemineral. A substance of the composition KNO3,it is used in explosives, for bluing steel, and infertilizers. A mixture of potassium nitrate andsodium nitrate is used for steel-tempering baths.The mixture melts at 250°C. Potassium nitrateis made by the action of potassium chloride onsodium nitrate. It occurs in colorless prismaticcrystals, or as a crystalline white powder. It hasa sharp saline taste and is soluble in water. Thespecific gravity is 2.1 and the melting point is337°C.
Potassium nitrate contains a large percentageof oxygen, which is readily given up andis well adapted for pyrotechnic compounds. Itgives a beautiful violet flame in burning. It isused in flares and in signal rockets.
Most enamels contain some oxidizing agentin the form of potassium or sodium nitrate.Only a small amount of nitrate is necessary; 2to 4% is sufficient to maintain oxidizing conditionsin most smelting operations.
In glazes it is sometimes used as a flux inplace of potassium oxide, but, owing to its costand solubility, very little of it is contained inglaze. Where conditions prevent the use of sufficientpotash feldspar, potassium oxide is introducedinto the mix, usually in the form of thenitrate in a frit.
Potassium nitrite is a solid of the compositionKNO2 used as a rust inhibitor, for theregeneration of heat-transfer salts, and for themanufacture of dyes.
Safety Profile
Poison by intravenous route. Moderately toxic by ingestion. An experimental teratogen. Experimental reproductive effects. Mutation data reported. Ingestion of large quantities may cause gastroenteritis. Chronic exposure can cause anemia, nephritis, and methemoglobinemia. When heated, reaction with calcium hydroxide + polychlorinated phenols forms extremely toxic chlorinated benzodtoxins. A powerful oxidizer. Gunpowder is a mixture of potassium nitrate + sulfur + charcoal. Explosive reaction with aluminum + barium nitrate + potassium perchlorate + water (in storage), boron + laminac + trichloroethylene. Forms explosive mixtures with lactose, powdered metals (e.g., titanium, antimony, germanium), metal sulfides (e.g., antimony trisulfide, barium sulfide, calcium sulfide, germanium monosulfide, titanium disulfide, arsenic disulfide, molybdenum disulfide), nonmetals (e.g., boron, carbon, white phosphorus, arsenic), organic materials, phosphides (e.g., copper(l1) phosphide, copper monophosphide), reducing agents (e.g., sodium phosphinate, sodium thiosulfate), sodium acetate. Can react violently under the appropriate conditions with 1,3- bis(trichlorometh~d)benzene, boron phosphde, F2, calcium shcide, charcoal, chromium nitride, Na hypophosphte, ma2O2 + dextrose), red phosphorus, (S + As2S3), thorium dicarbide, trichloroethylene, zinc, zirconium. When heated to decomposition it emits very toxic fumes of NOx and K2O. See also NITRATES.
Potential Exposure
Used to make explosives, gunpowder, fireworks, rocket fuel; matches, fertilizer, fluxes, glass manufacture; and as a diuretic
Shipping
UN1486 Potassium nitrate, Hazard Class: 5.1; Labels: 5.1-Oxidizer.
Purification Methods
It crystallises from hot H2O (0.5mL/g) on cooling (cf KNO2 below). Dry it for 12hours under vacuum at 70o. The solubility in H2O is 13.3% at 0o, 110% at 60o, and 246% at 100o. After two recrystallisations, technical grade salt had <0.001 ppm of metals. The fused salt is a powerful oxidising agent.
Incompatibilities
A powerful oxidizer. Dangerously reactive and friction-and shock-sensitive when mixed with organic materials and many materials. Violent reactions with reducing agents; chemically active metals; charcoal, trichloroethylene.
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