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CAS Number 7757-79-1
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Empirical Formula (Hill Notation) KNO3
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Molecular Weight 101.10
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EC Number 231-818-8
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MDL number MFCD00011409
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PubChem Substance ID 329820324
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−, and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate.
Detailed
description
It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural
solid source of nitrogen. Potassium nitrate
is one of several nitrogen-containing compounds collectively referred to as saltpeter or saltpetre.
Major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks. It is one of the
major constituents of gunpowder (blackpowder) and
has been used since the Middle Ages as a food preservative.
Uses
Potassium nitrate has a wide variety of uses,
largely as a source of nitrate.
Nitric acid production
Historically, nitric acid was produced by
combining sulfuric acid with nitrates such as saltpeter. In modern times this
is reversed: nitrates are produced from nitric acid produced via the Ostwald process.
Oxidizer
The most famous use of potassium nitrate is probably
as the oxidizer in blackpowder. From the most
ancient times through the late 1880s, blackpowder provided the explosive power
for all the world's firearms. After that time, small arms and large artillery
increasingly began to depend on cordite, a smokeless powder. Blackpowder
remains in use today in black powder rocket
motors, but also in combination with other fuels like
sugars in "rocket candy". It is also
used in fireworks such as smoke bombs.[19] It is also added to
cigarettes to maintain an even burn of the tobacco[20] and is used to
ensure complete combustion of paper cartridges for cap and ball
revolvers.[21] It can also be
heated to several hundred degrees to be used for niter bluing, which is less
durable than other forms of protective oxidation, but allows for specific and
often beautiful coloration of steel parts, such as screws, pins, and other
small parts of firearms.
Food preservation
In the process of food preservation, potassium nitrate
has been a common ingredient of salted meat since the Middle Ages,[22] but its use has been
mostly discontinued because of inconsistent results compared to more modern
nitrate and nitrite compounds. Even so, saltpeter is still used in some food
applications, such as charcuterie and the brine used to make corned beef.[23] When used as a food
additive in the European Union,[24] the compound is
referred to as E252; it is also approved for use as a food additive in
the USA[25] and Australia and
New Zealand[26] (where it is listed
under its INS number 252).[3] Although nitrate
salts have been suspected of producing the carcinogen nitrosamine, both sodium and
potassium nitrates and nitrites have been added to meats in the US since 1925,
and nitrates and nitrites have not been removed from preserved meat products
because nitrite and nitrate inhibits the germination of C. botulinum endospores, and thus prevents botulism from bacterial toxin
that may otherwise be produced in certain preserved meat products.[27][28]
Food preparation
In West African cuisine, potassium nitrate
(saltpetre) is widely used as a thickening agent in soups and stews such as okra soup[29] and isi ewu. It is also used to
soften food and reduce cooking time when boiling beans and tough meat.
Saltpetre is also an essential ingredient in making special porridges, such as kunun kanwa[30] literally translated
from the Hausa language as 'saltpetre
porridge'. In the Shetland Islands (UK) it is used in the curing of mutton to
make "reestit" mutton, a local delicacy.
Fertilizer
Potassium nitrate is used in fertilizers as a source of
nitrogen and potassium – two of the macronutrients for plants. When
used by itself, it has an NPK rating of 13-0-44.[31][32]
Pharmacology
·
Used in some toothpastes for sensitive teeth.[33] Recently, the use of
potassium nitrate in toothpastes for treating
sensitive teeth has increased and it may be an effective treatment.[34][35]
·
Used in Thailand as main ingredient in kidney
tablets to relieve the symptoms of cystitis, pyelitis and urethritis.[38]
·
Combats high blood pressure and was once used as a hypotensive.[39]
Other uses
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Electrolyte in a salt bridge
·
Active ingredient of condensed aerosol
fire suppression systems. When burned
with the free radicals of a fire's flame,
it produces potassium carbonate.[40]
·
Works as an aluminium cleaner.
·
Component (usually about 98%) of some tree stump removal products. It
accelerates the natural decomposition of the stump by
supplying nitrogen for the fungi attacking the wood of the stump.[41]
·
In heat treatment of metals as a
medium temperature molten salt bath, usually in combination with sodium
nitrite. A similar bath is used to produce a durable blue/black finish
typically seen on firearms. Its oxidizing quality, water
solubility, and low cost make it an ideal short-term rust inhibitor.[42]
·
Thermal storage medium in power generation systems. Sodium and
potassium nitrate salts are stored in a molten state with the solar energy collected by the heliostats at the Gemasolar
Thermosolar Plant. Ternary salts, with the addition of calcium nitrate or lithium nitrate, have been found to
improve the heat storage capacity in the molten salts.[45]
In folklore and popular culture
Potassium nitrate was once thought to induce impotence, and is still falsely
rumored to be in institutional food (such as military fare) as an anaphrodisiac; however, there is
no scientific evidence for such properties.
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