19 Facts About Potassium nitrate

1.

Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula.

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2.

Potassium nitrate is one of several nitrogen-containing compounds collectively referred to as saltpetre .

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3.

Major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks.

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4.

In processed meats, potassium nitrate reacts with hemoglobin and myoglobin generating a red color.

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5.

Purification process for potassium nitrate was outlined in 1270 by the chemist and engineer Hasan al-Rammah of Syria in his book al-Furusiyya wa al-Manasib al-Harbiyya .

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6.

Major natural sources of potassium nitrate were the deposits crystallizing from cave walls and the accumulations of bat guano in caves.

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7.

Potassium nitrate was writing with the express purpose of increasing production in the Confederate States to support their needs during the American Civil War.

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8.

The heap was usually under a cover from the rain, kept moist with urine, turned often to accelerate the decomposition, then finally leached with water after approximately one year, to remove the soluble calcium nitrate which was then converted to potassium nitrate by filtering through potash.

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9.

Potassium nitrate can be made by combining ammonium nitrate and potassium hydroxide.

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10.

Potassium nitrate can be produced by neutralizing nitric acid with potassium hydroxide.

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11.

Potassium nitrate is moderately soluble in water, but its solubility increases with temperature.

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12.

Potassium nitrate has a wide variety of uses, largely as a source of nitrate.

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13.

Potassium nitrate has been a common ingredient of salted meat since antiquity or the Middle Ages.

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14.

The widespread adoption of Potassium nitrate use is more recent and is linked to the development of large-scale meat processing.

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15.

The use of potassium nitrate has been mostly discontinued because of slow and inconsistent results compared to sodium nitrite compounds such as "Prague powder" or pink "curing salt".

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16.

In West African cuisine, potassium nitrate is widely used as a thickening agent in soups and stews such as okra soup and isi ewu.

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17.

Potassium nitrate is used in fertilizers as a source of nitrogen and potassium – two of the macronutrients for plants.

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18.

Potassium nitrate was once thought to induce impotence, and is still rumored to be in institutional food as an anaphrodisiac; however, there is no scientific evidence for such properties.

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19.

Potassium nitrate, eventually, is able to do so in exchange for pins for sewing.

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