Potassium nitric acid

DescriptionPotassium nitrate (chemical formula: KNO3) is the nitrate of potassium. It is a crystalline salt and a strong oxidizer which can be specially used in making gunpowder, as a fertilizer, and in medicine. It can be manufactured through the reaction between ammonium nitrate and potassium hydroxide, and alternatively through the reaction between ammonium nitrate with potassium chloride. Potassium nitrate has various applications. Its major applications include: fertilizer, tree stump removal, rocket propellant and fireworks. It can also be used for the nitric acid production. It is also useful for food preservation and food preparation. In pharmacology, it can be used to treat asthma and relieving high blood pressure.

UsesPotassium nitrate is used chiefly in the manufacture of gunpowder or other explosives, but is also used for fireworks,for lucifer matches, for curing meat, for manufacture of certain kinds of glass, for flux in metallurgical assays, for some dyeing, and in medicine. In agriculture, potassium nitrate is used as a water-soluble and virtually chloride-free source of nitrate-nitrogen and potassium nutrients. Due to the product's specific characteristics and benefits, target markets are related to high-value crops such as vegetables, fruits and flowers. Furthermore, chloride-sensitive crops, such as potato, strawberry, beans, cabbage, lettuce, peanut, carrot, onion, blackberry tobacco, apricot, grapefruit and avocado, will depend for their quality on the use of chloride-free K sources, such as potassium nitrate. Potassium nitrate is used in a wide variety of applications including glass manufacturing, explosives for mining and civil works, metal treatment, fireworks, and recently, as a means to drastically increase the efficiency of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants as described in the following paragraph.

DescriptionPotassium 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.

HistorySaltpeter’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.