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The chemical compound potassium chloride (KCl) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. In its pure state it is odorless.
It has a white or colorless vitreous crystal, with a crystal structure that cleaves easily in three directions. Potassium chloride crystals are face-centered cubic. Potassium chloride is occasionally known as "muriate of potash," particularly when used as a fertilizer.
Potash varies in color from pink or red to white depending on the mining and recovery process used. White potash, sometimes referred to as soluble potash, is usually higher in analysis and is used primarily for making liquid starter fertilizers.
KCl is used in medicine, scientific applications, food processing and in judicial execution through lethal injection. It occurs naturally as the mineral sylvite and in combination with sodium chloride as sylvinite. |
Calcium chloride: : Uses in industry
Because the anhydrous salt is strongly hygroscopic, air or other gases may be channeled through a column of calcium chloride to remove moisture. In particular, calcium chloride is usually used to pack drying tubes to exclude atmospheric moisture from a reaction set-up while allowing gases to escape.
It cannot, however, be used to dry alkaline gases such as ammonia because it will form addition products. It is used to dry kelp, which is then used to produce soda ash. It can also be added to liquids to remove suspended or dissolved water.
The dissolving process is highly exothermic and rapidly produces temperatures of around 60 °C (140 °F). In this capacity, it is known as a drying agent or desiccant. It is converted to a brine as it adsorbs the water or water vapor from the substance to be dried: |
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