Magnesium Chloride (redirected from Slo-Mag)

magnesium chloride [mag′nē·zē·əm ′klȯr‚īd]

(inorganic chemistry)

MgCl₂·6H₂O Deliquescent white crystals; soluble in water and alcohol; used in disinfectants and fire extinguishers, and in ceramics, textiles, and paper manufacture.

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Magnesium Chloride 

MgCl₂, a salt; colorless crystals. Density, 2.316 g/cm³; melting point, 713°C; boiling point, 1412°C. It is extremely hygroscopic; its solubility in water at 20°C is 35.3 percent (by weight). It forms crystalline hydrates with one, two, four, six, eight, and 12 water molecules. Hydrous magnesium chloride, MgCl₂-6H₂O, is stable at temperatures from —3.4° to 116.7°C. It occurs naturally as the mineral bischofite; it is extracted in large quantities during the concentration of ocean brines. Magnesium chloride forms double salts, an example of which is the highly valuable mineral carnallite, KCl.MgCl₂-6H₂O (a source of Mg and KC1). The production of magnesium chloride involves the dehydration of bischofite to MgCl₂»2H₂O, which is then dehydrated in a flow of HC1 at 100°-200°C. Magnesium chloride is primarily used in the manufacture of metallic magnesium; MgCl₂ • 6H₂O is used in the preparation of magnesia cements.