Potassium Carbonate

potassium carbonate

[pə′tas·ē·əm ′kär·bə‚nāt]

(inorganic chemistry)

K₂CO₃ White, water-soluble, deliquescent powder, melting at 891°C; insoluble in alcohol; used in brewing, ceramics, explosives, fertilizers, and as a chemical intermediate. Also known as potash; salt of tartar.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Potassium Carbonate

 

, potash, K₂C0₃, a salt; colorless crystals. Density 2.3 g/cm³; melting point, 89.4°C. Highly hygroscopic; solubility, 113.5 g per 100 g H₂O at 20°C (156 g at 100°C). The solution is alkaline.

Potash has been extracted from the ashes of wood and herbaceous plants since ancient times. It is produced commercially mainly from natural potassium salts and as a by-product of the conversion of nepheline to aluminum oxide. Potassium carbonate is used in the preparation of liquid soaps, hard and crystal glasses, dyes, and photographic materials. It is also used as apotassium fertilizer.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.