What is sodium chloride used for?

Sodium chloride, a type of inorganic ionic compounds, colorless cubic crystals or fine crystalline powder, salty. The appearance is white crystal shape, its source is mainly seawater, is the main component of salt. Soluble in water, glycerin, slightly soluble in ethanol (alcohol), liquid ammonia; Insoluble in concentrated hydrochloric acid. Impure sodium chloride is deliquesous in air. The stability is relatively good, its aqueous solution is neutral, industry generally uses the method of electrolytic saturated sodium chloride solution to produce hydrogen, chlorine and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and other chemical products (generally known as chlor-alkali industry) can also be used for ore smelting (electrolytic melting of sodium chloride crystal production active metal sodium), medical used to prepare normal saline, life can be used for seasoning.

Basic information about sodium chloride

Chemical formula: NaCl

Molecular weight: 58.4428

CAS login number: 7647-14-5

EINECS login number: 231-598-3

Melting point: 801 ℃

Boiling point: 1465 ℃

Density: 2.165 g/cm³(25℃)

Appearance: Colorless crystal or white powder

Application field of sodium chloride

Industry

1. Electrolytic sodium chloride solution, will produce hydrogen and chlorine gas, chlorine gas has a wide range of applications in chemical industry, can be used in the synthesis of PVC, insecticide, hydrochloric acid, etc.

2. When the Si method of sodium metal: through the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride and calcium chloride mixture to produce sodium metal. Calcium chloride is used as a flux to reduce the melting point of sodium chloride to below 700℃. Calcium is less reductive than sodium and does not introduce impurities.

3. Sodium chloride is necessary for many biological reactions, such as molecular biology tests in a variety of solution formulations contain sodium chloride, bacterial medium mostly contains sodium chloride. At the same time, it is also the raw material of soda ash in the ammonia-alkali process.

4. Inorganic and organic industry used as raw materials for the manufacture of caustic soda, chlorate, hypochlorite, bleach powder, refrigerant of freezing system, raw materials for organic synthesis and salting out agents. Iron and steel industry used as heat treatment agent. The high temperature heat source is mixed with potassium chloride, barium chloride and other salt bath, which can be used as the heating medium to maintain the temperature between 820 ~ 960℃. In addition, also used in glass, dye, metallurgy and other industries.

5. Analytical reagents used as fluorine and silicate trace analysis reagents.

6. Hou's alkali preparation method soda ash: the second step: the first step to prepare ammonium bicarbonate solution and sodium chloride solution mixed, at 10℃ to get sodium bicarbonate and ammonium chloride.

Food industry

The food industry and fisheries are used for salting, as raw materials for seasonings and for table salt.

Adding salt to cooking dishes can remove some of the odors of raw materials and increase the taste, which is the refreshing effect of salt. "Tasteless, salty, tasteless" means to use the appropriate amount of salt, in order to play its unique function.

Medical

Sodium chloride is very important for life on Earth. Most biological tissues contain a variety of salts. The concentration of sodium ions in blood is directly related to the regulation of the safe level of body fluids. The conduction of nerve impulses resulting from signal conversion is also regulated by sodium ions.

Water containing 0.9% sodium chloride is called normal saline because it has the same osmotic pressure as plasma. Normal saline is the main body fluid substitute, widely used to treat and prevent dehydration, as well as intravenous therapy and the prevention of hypovolemic shock.

Unlike other primates, humans secrete large amounts of sodium chloride through sweating.

Sodium chloride is indispensable to human beings. The total amount of sodium ions in an adult's body is about 60 grams, 80% of which is in the extracellular fluid, the plasma and the intercellular fluid. Chloride ions are also mainly present in the extracellular fluid. 

The main physiological functions of sodium and chloride ions are:

(1) maintain the osmotic pressure of extracellular fluid;

(2) Participate in the regulation of acid-base balance in the body;

(3) Chloride ions are involved in the production of gastric acid in the body, and sodium chloride also plays a role in maintaining the normal excitability of nerves and muscles.

Agriculture

Its aqueous solution can be used for seed selection. NaCl solutions are formulated according to the needs of the species, which are denser than water. When the seeds were put into NaCl solution, they were not full when floating, but full when sinking.

Other

New findings released by the Singapore Institute of Science and Technology reveal that sodium chloride can significantly increase the capacity of hard disks. To put that in context, existing conventional hard drives, which use randomly assigned magnetic chips, can only achieve 0.5 terabytes of data density per square inch. With the help of sodium chloride and the new high-resolution lithography factor technology, the data density will be more orderly, up to 3.3 terabytes per square inch without requiring complex equipment upgrades. Using this technique on a 1TB hard drive, you can reach 6TB capacity without adding platters.