Formula NaNO3 Melting point 308 °C Boiling point 380 °C | Molar mass 84.9947 g/mol Density 2.26 g/cm³ | |
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Related compounds Appearance White powder or colorless crystals | ||
Sodium nitrate
Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula NaNO3. This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Peru saltpeter (due to the large deposits found in the Atacama desert in these countries) to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. The mineral form is also known as nitratine, nitratite or soda niter.
Contents
- Sodium nitrate
- Chemistry nature facts what is sodium nitrate
- History
- Uses
- Dental use
- Health concerns
- References
Sodium nitrate is a white solid very soluble in water. It is a readily available source of the nitrate anion (NO3−), which is useful in several reactions carried out on industrial scales for the production of fertilizers, pyrotechnics and smoke bombs, glass and pottery enamels, food preservatives (esp. meats), and solid rocket propellant. It has been mined extensively for these purposes.
Chemistry nature facts what is sodium nitrate
History
The first shipment of Peruvian saltpeter to Europe arrived in England in 1820 or 1825, right after that country's independence from Spain, but did not find any buyers and was dumped at sea in order to avoid customs toll. With time, however, the mining of South American saltpeter became a profitable business (in 1859, England alone consumed 47,000 metric tons). Chile fought against the allies Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific 1879-1884 and took over their richest deposits. In 1919, Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff determined its crystal structure using X-ray crystallography.
Uses
Sodium nitrate was used extensively as a fertilizer and a raw material for the manufacture of gunpowder in the late 19th century. It can be combined with iron hydroxide to make a synthetic resin.
Sodium nitrate can be combined with sulfuric acid and nitric acid distilled off. At lower pressure the lower temperature needed results in less decomposition. The theoretical 2 moles of nitric acid per 1 mole of sulfuric acid results in a very high end temperature, much decomposition and a solid neutral sulfate that is difficult to remove. When this reaction was important industrially, it was common practice to operate with sulfuric acid in excess to end on a mostly bisulfate product poured molten out of the retort.
Hobbyist gold refiners use sodium nitrate to make a hybrid aqua regia that dissolves gold and other metals.
Sodium nitrate is also a food additive used as a preservative and color fixative in cured meats and poultry; it is listed under its INS number 251 or E number E251. It is approved for use in the EU, USA and Australia and New Zealand. Sodium nitrate should not be confused with sodium nitrite, which is also a common food additive and preservative used, for example, in deli meats.
Less common applications include as an oxidizer in fireworks, replacing potassium nitrate commonly found in black powder, and as a component in instant cold packs.
Sodium nitrate is used together with potassium nitrate and calcium nitrate for heat storage and, more recently, for heat transfer in solar power plants. A mixture of sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate is used as energy-storage material in prototype plants, such as Andasol Solar Power Station and the Archimedes project.
It is also used in the wastewater industry for facultative microorganism respiration. Nitrosomonas, a genus of microorganisms, consumes nitrate in preference to oxygen, enabling it to grow more rapidly in the wastewater to be treated.
Sodium nitrate is also sometimes used by marine aquarists who utilize carbon-dosing techniques. It is used to increase nitrate levels in the water and promote bacterial growth.
Dental use
Mouthwash and gels containing sodium nitrate are used in treatment of dentine hypersensitivity.
Health concerns
Studies have shown a link between increased levels of nitrates and increased deaths from certain diseases including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus, Gastric Cancer, and Parkinson's: possibly through the damaging effect of nitrosamines on DNA, however, little is done to control for other possible causes in the epidemiological results. Nitrosamines, formed in cured meats containing sodium nitrate and nitrite, have been linked to gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer. Sodium nitrate and nitrite are associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer.
One of the reasons that processed meat increases the risk of colon cancer is its content of nitrate. A small amount of the nitrate added to meat as a preservative breaks down into nitrite, in addition to any nitrite that may also be added. The nitrite then reacts with protein-rich foods (such as meat) to produce carcinogenic NOCs (nitroso compounds). NOCs can be formed either when meat is cured or in the body as meat is digested.
For most people, the highest dietary source of nitrates is from fruits and vegetables and no studies have conclusively linked nitrates and nitrites to cancer or any other form of diseases. On the contrary, some research has hinted to beneficial properties of nitrites such as lowering blood pressure by slightly expanding arteries. The only reason nitrates and nitrites came under such legal scrutiny is when the US Food and Drug Administration presented a brief report which stated that some adverse effect was observed on mice (“depression of growth”) when their intake of nitrites was up to 90% of daily diet.