Potassium chlorite. Application of KCl - recommendations for farmers

Potassium chloride (international name – Potassium chloride) is an electrolyte solution belonging to the pharmacological group of macro- and microelements.

Release form

They produce a solution of Potassium chloride 4 and 10% (i.e., every 100 g contains 4 and 10 grams of potassium, respectively) in bottles for infusion, in ampoules for injection and oral administration. In addition, it is worth noting that in addition to the solution, potassium chloride can be found in the pharmacy chain in the form of a concentrate for the preparation of an infusion solution, film-coated tablets and sustained-release capsules.

Potassium chloride 5% is not produced.

Pharmacological properties of Potassium chloride

Potassium is the main intracellular ion, which is directly involved in the regulation of various body functions. It plays an important role in maintaining intracellular osmotic pressure, in the contraction of skeletal muscles (especially in myasthenia gravis and muscular dystrophy), in the process of transmitting and conducting nerve impulses to innervated organs, in the transport of amino acids, protein synthetic reactions and a number of other biochemical processes. Potassium also reduces the conductivity and excitability of the myocardium.

Potassium chloride solution is a product designed to replenish potassium deficiency in the body and restore water-electrolyte balance. This drug has a moderate diuretic effect and has a negative biological and chronotropic effect. When used in small doses, potassium dilates the coronary vessels, in large doses it narrows them, and also has a negative dromo- and inotropic effect. When administered intravenously, potassium chloride increases the secretion of adrenaline by the adrenal glands and reduces the risk of toxic effects of cardiac glycosides.

Pharmacokinetics

After oral administration, potassium in almost any quantity is easily absorbed (by about 70%), since its concentration in the lumen of the small intestine is higher than in the blood plasma. The half-life is 1.5 hours.

Indications for use

The instructions for Potassium chloride indicate that the use of the drug is advisable:

• For hypokalemia, including that developed against the background of prolonged vomiting and/or diarrhea, diabetes mellitus, long-term treatment with certain diuretics, antihypertensive drugs and glucocorticosteroids;
• For the treatment and prevention of digitalis intoxication (poisoning with cardiac glycosides and diuretics);
• For the prevention of arrhythmia in patients with acute myocardial infarction;
• For the treatment of paroxysmal tachycardia and atrial fibrillation;
• In order to restore and maintain normal potassium levels in the body.

Contraindications for use

Potassium supplements should not be used for:

• Hyperkalemia;
• Adrenal insufficiency;
• Complete AV block;
• Chronic renal failure;
• Metabolic disorders (such as hypovolemia with hyponatremia, acidosis);
• Erosive and ulcerative diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Concomitant therapy with potassium-sparing diuretics.

Directions for use and dosage

The specific dose of the drug is determined based on the potassium content in the blood plasma. The deficiency of this element is calculated by the doctor using a special formula. The required amount of Potassium chloride 4 or 10% is diluted with water and administered dropwise (at a rate of 20-30 drops per minute). It is also possible to dilute Potassium chloride with 5% glucose or 0.9% sodium chloride. The recommended daily dosage, as a rule, does not exceed 20 mmol of potassium per hour or 2-3 mmol of potassium per 1 kilogram of body weight.

In emergency cases (and these include the threat of hypokalemia, diagnosed ECG measurements and/or marked muscle paralysis), as well as when the level of potassium in the blood serum is less than 2.0 mg/l, the dose of Potassium chloride can be increased to 400 mg/day or 40 mg/hour. This administration of the drug is carried out under the strict supervision of medical personnel, with frequent checking of potassium levels in the blood plasma and ECG monitoring - these measures are required to prevent cardiac arrest.

A solution of Potassium chloride 10%, 15-20 ml, is usually taken orally three or four times a day. According to indications, the dosage can be increased to 60-120 ml. If for some reason the next dose of the drug was missed, then you need to do the following: if no more than 2 hours have passed, take the recommended dose simultaneously with liquid or food; if more than 2 hours have passed, skip this dose and return to the usual regimen. The standard daily dose for oral administration is 50-150 ml. As the therapeutic effect develops, the dose of the drug is reduced.

Side effects

As they say in reviews of the electrolyte solution, it can provoke the development of negative reactions of the body, such as:

• Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhea, intestinal obstruction and perforation, ulceration of the gastrointestinal mucosa;
• Myasthenia gravis, paresthesia, confusion;
• Arrhythmia, decreased blood pressure, heart block;
• Hyperkalemia and allergic reactions.

Overdose

Taking potassium chloride in doses exceeding the recommended ones is fraught with the development of hyperkalemia, manifested by paresthesia of the limbs, arrhythmia, muscle hypotonicity, and slowing of AV conduction. Possible cardiac arrest.

special instructions

If Potassium Chloride is intended for oral administration, it should be taken with or immediately after meals with water. During the course of treatment with potassium-containing drugs, it is important to strictly adhere to the doctor's instructions regarding nutrition. We must not forget that when determining the amount of potassium entering the body, its content in food products is also taken into account.

Potassium chloride is one of the main potash fertilizers. The formula of potassium chloride is KCl. This chemical compound can be either pink or white in color. The structure is crystalline, has a fine fraction. Potassium chloride dissolves very quickly in water, so it is used both dry and diluted. This fertilizer is produced in accordance with the requirements of GOST 4568-95 “Potassium chloride. Technical conditions".

Types of KCl

To make the use of this substance as universal as possible, potassium chloride is produced in different structures. Main types:

• . granulated potassium chloride,
• . pink granulate,
• . white.

This fertilizer is used in various fields of agriculture. Granular potassium chloride is often used to fertilize crops that grow on large farms. This drug tends to stay in the soil for a long time, which allows you to fertilize the soil relatively rarely. The granules have a denser structure. This allows chemicals to remain in the soil longer under the influence of water.

Farmers often mix this fertilizer with phosphate and nitrogen preparations. This process allows you to accelerate the development of the plant in every sense. A plant fertilized with such a triple composition begins to quickly develop both in the root system and in the stems.

This type of potassium fertilizer has the highest cost, so the products produced are often exported to other countries due to the fact that chemically pure potassium chloride is produced from potash ores.

Pink fine potassium chloride is practically not inferior in potassium content to granulated potassium chloride. It can be applied to the soil as an independent fertilizer or in combination with other preparations.

White potassium chloride as a fertilizer is used only in combination with nitrogen and phosphate preparations; this substance does not act as an independent unit. Vegetable growers often use this complex of fertilizers to improve the growth of potatoes. White potassium chloride is produced in accordance with GOST 4234 “Reagents. Potassium chloride. Technical conditions".

Features of application

The use of potassium chloride is quite universal, but very often its sector of action is aimed at the following crops:

• . potato,
• . sugar beet,
• . various grain crops,
• . millet,
• . buckwheat,
• . pepper,
• . onion,
• . sunflower.

This fertilizer is also used for fruit and berry plants. Sometimes it effectively promotes the growth of certain ornamental plantings that grow on light soil. The rapid action of potassium chloride solution is possible in areas with loamy and sandy soil.

Soil application rates

Experienced farmers know that all fertilizers that contain a saturated solution of potassium chloride must be applied to the soil in the fall. During this period, the soil will be dug up for the winter, which means that chlorine will have time to leave before spring, and potassium will be able to gain a foothold. It is rare to see cases where potash fertilizers are applied to the soil in the spring. Such a step, of course, is only possible when the soil is also dug up.

The instructions for using potassium chloride indicate that the general rate of application of potassium chloride in the autumn is 100-200g per 10 sq.m. In the spring, the application rate is reduced to 25-35 g per 10 sq.m.

Before fertilizing a site, you need to know in advance what plants and crops will be planted there. Because the amount of potassium chloride added to the soil differs for different crops.

For potatoes, one pinch per hole will be enough, approximately 2-3 g.

For vegetable crops, the application rate remains general - 150-200g per 10 sq.m. But it is worth remembering that for vegetables it is better to apply such fertilizing in the autumn when digging the soil.

For fruit trees that will only be planted in the ground, the rate of applying this drug to the planting hole is 60-100g.

For planting raspberries, currants or blackberries, the application rate is reduced to 40-50 g.

Impact on plants

To know exactly what properties a given fertilizer has, you need to know the qualitative characteristics of the soil into which the drug will be applied. The fastest and most positive effect of this fertilizer is expected on light soils where sand predominates.

If this preparation is applied to potatoes, then an increased content of starch can be observed in the harvested crop. For carrots, onions and beets, potassium chloride increases sugar levels. If it is applied to the soil where flax will grow, the resulting product will have strong fibers.

The composition of potassium chloride is capable of:

• . increase the plant’s resistance to temperature changes, prolonged heat, various bacterial, viral and fungal diseases,
• . increase the yield of vegetable and grain crops,
• . extend the shelf life of the harvested crop,
• . prevent the negative effects of heavy metals and radionuclides inside the plant,
• . provoke abundant fruiting and ovary formation,
• . improve plant photosynthesis,
• . accelerate the metabolism of nutrients in the plant’s vascular system,
• . accelerate the production of organic acids.

The price of potassium chloride on the fertilizer market varies from 12,000 rubles to 26,000 rubles per 1 ton. The large difference in price is due to the use or lack of high-quality production during potassium chloride production, delivery, etc.

Potassium chloride is a fertilizer with a high potassium content. It is used in agricultural technology to replenish nutrients and normalize plant development. Used as part of complex feeding, in combination with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, or in its own form.

Article outline

Properties of potassium chloride

Potassium chloride (KCl) is a concentrated mineral supplement whose main component is potassium. Depending on the manufacturing method and GOST classification, it may contain 52% - 99% potassium. It looks like granules or crystals of pink, white, gray, brown shade. It is obtained by reacting potassium hydroxide with hydrochloric acid under laboratory production conditions. In production, the raw materials are potassium-containing salts.

In nature, the substance is found in sylvinite and is found as the minerals carnallite and sylvite. In industrial conditions, the method of halurgy is more often used, and less often, flotation is used to isolate potassium chloride. The galurgy method is based on the different dissolution abilities of potassium and sodium chlorine substances. At normal storage temperatures, these substances have the same dissolution properties.

An increase in temperature leads to an increase in the solubility of potassium chloride, while the ability to dissolve sodium chloride remains virtually unchanged.

At low temperatures, a solution of KCl and NaCl is prepared, which is subsequently used to treat sylvinite at high temperatures. During the reaction, the initial solution is supersaturated with potassium from sylvinite, and sodium chloride is displaced from the solution in the form of salts. Next, excess potassium chloride is separated from the solution by crystallization in industrial centrifuges and undergoes additional processing - drying. The original solution is used again.

Potassium chloride is used in agricultural technology, pharmacology, and the food industry.

There is an opinion that on fertile lands there is no need to use potassium chloride fertilizer. This opinion is erroneous - on chernozems it is possible to reduce or not use nitrogen-containing and phosphorus-containing fertilizers at all, but potassium fertilizers are necessary because of their ability to:

Potash fertilizing is necessary on any type of soil. On depleted soils, potassium chloride fertilizer is applied together with nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers or as part of complex fertilizers. On heavy, fertile soils it is applied as an independent fertilizer.

When using, strict dosages must be observed. Despite all the benefits, excessive use can lead to a decrease in soil fertility due to the presence of sodium impurities in potassium chloride and negatively affect plant growth due to the chlorine content in it.

You can protect plants from the influence of chlorine compounds by timely application of a mineral supplement. In agricultural technology, this type of fertilizer is usually used in the off-season, during periods of heavy rain. Chlorine is washed away by rain, and potassium remains in the form of granules and crystals, which contributes to a more prolonged action of the beneficial microelement.

Potassium chloride fertilizer is produced in the form of granules and crystals - large and small. Due to the high solubility rate, granular and coarse-crystalline types are more in demand in agricultural technology. They have a more prolonged action, they dissolve and are washed out of the soil more slowly.

The appearance, content and composition of potassium chloride are regulated by GOST standards. In agriculture, potassium chloride is used according to GOST 4234-77 and 4568-95. Products vary in the amount of potassium, chlorine, sodium and related impurities.

Potassium chloride GOST 4234-77 is a free-flowing, white, coarse-crystalline composition, divided into three grades:

1. chemically pure – denoted by the abbreviation KhCh;
2. pure for analysis - designated as analytical grade;
3. pure – indicated by the symbol Ch.

According to GOST 4234-77 regulations, it contains at least 99.8% KCl. The mass fraction of impurities in the form of free acids and alkalis, nitrogen, phosphates, sulfates, chlorates, nitrates, arsenic, iron, magnesium and barium should not exceed a total of 0.2%. Potassium chloride according to GOST 4234-77 is more often used in the food industry and pharmacology.

Potassium chloride "Ch", which is also called white potassium chloride, is used in agriculture only in combination with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, as well as as part of complex mixtures. Not used as individual feeding. In agricultural technology, the composition of GOST 4568-95 is more often used.

Potassium chloride GOST 4568-95 is divided into two types - granular and fine, each of which is divided into grades:

1. "Granulated", grade 1– compressed granules may have an irregular shape, gray-white or red-brown color;
2. "Granulated", grade 2– large gray-white crystals;
3. “Small”, grade 1– small gray crystals;
4. “Small”, grade 2– crushed crystals of granular consistency of red-brown shades.

GOST 4568-95 – chemical composition

Potassium chloride “Melky” according to GOST 4568-95 is used in the production of rubber, artificial leather, and yeast. In agriculture, the “Granulated” type is used. The substance according to GOST 4568-95 is not used in pharmacology and medicine.

According to the instructions, potassium chloride is a moderately dangerous substance. It does not have a negative effect on intact skin, but it interferes with wound healing, irritates and promotes inflammation of damaged skin.

For this reason, it is recommended to work in a protective suit if there are open wounds or injuries. In the air, the substance does not form toxic compounds hazardous to health. It is not a flammable or explosive composition. It is not a substance that contributes to the occurrence of corrosive processes.

Due to its high hygroscopicity, the composition should be stored indoors with low humidity levels. Ingress of precipitation and exposure to groundwater is unacceptable. Outdoor storage is indicated in tightly closed containers or plastic bags under a canopy.

Not used simultaneously with chalk. The shelf life, which is regulated by GOST standards, is 6 months. After 6 months, the composition does not lose its chemical characteristics, but may lose its appearance and friability.

Lack and excess of potassium for plants

Excessive potassium content negatively affects the development of crops, since this element prevents plants from absorbing primarily nitrogen, as well as magnesium, calcium, zinc and other microelements. Normal development and growth of vegetative mass is suspended.

Old leaves take on a rich dark green color. Young leaves remain small and die quickly. Excess potassium can lead to the complete death of fruit and vegetable crops.

A deficiency is determined by the following criteria:

• the formed foliage changes its green color to bluish-brown;
• yellowness may appear with a transition to brown color and subsequent death of the leaf along the edge;
• the appearance of dark brown or brown spots on old leaves;
• leaves are deformed, shape changes, possibly curling with subsequent death;
• the stem is thin, can adhere to the ground, and does not gain thickness during the growing season;
• There is a delay in flowering, ovary formation and budding.

Potassium deficiency often affects plants in depleted and poor soils - sandstones, sandy loam soils, floodplains and peat areas.

Application of potassium chloride for different plants

All root vegetables respond well to potassium - sugar beets, carrots, potatoes. Grapes, tobacco, cereals, cucumbers, and tomatoes love this microelement. However, chlorine can harm plants. Grapes, tobacco, potatoes, beans, and all berry bushes respond negatively to large amounts of chlorine.

Beets, corn, and cereals are more resistant to chlorine. If plants react poorly to potassium chloride due to the chlorine content in it, it is recommended to replace this fertilizer with potassium-free chlorine fertilizers, for example, potassium magnesia or.

To neutralize the effects of chlorine, fertilizing is carried out in the fall so that this element is washed away by precipitation and groundwater by the beginning of the growing season. Potassium has a more prolonged effect and will completely decompose in the soil by spring.

In spring, chlorine-containing fertilizers can be used in damp areas, during rains and snow melting, after heavy watering. The spring application of potassium chloride is carried out on light sandy and sandy loam soils, and the autumn application on medium and heavy soils.

All about potash fertilizers

Norms for applying potassium chloride fertilizer

1. Potassium chloride is usually added during digging in the fall, the norm according to the instructions is 100 g - 200 g/10 m².
2. In spring, the norm decreases to 25 g - 50 g/10 m².

During the growing season, potassium fertilizers are also used on depleted soils.

So that potassium reaches the root system of plants faster, and chlorine does not harm the development of crops, potassium chloride is added as a solution.

Due to its high hygroscopicity and good solubility, preparing a solution of potassium chloride is not difficult. To do this you will need potassium fertilizer 30 g/10 l of water. Application of a mineral supplement is more effective if carried out several times per season than a single application of a large volume.

Potatoes are extremely sensitive to chlorine. This element reduces the starch content in tubers. Potassium chloride is applied to potatoes once per calendar year - in the fall after digging at the rate of 100 g/10 m².

On light soils, it is better to abandon the chlorine-containing additive and replace it with potassium magnesium or cement dust.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes do not tolerate chlorine well. Therefore, when applying potassium chloride fertilizer for tomatoes, use the digging method in the fall at 100 g/10 m² so that the chlorine is washed out of the soil by spring.

For spring, starting fertilizing, chlorine-containing fertilizing is replaced with potassium sulfate.

cucumbers

For cucumbers, the addition of potassium is of great importance; its deficiency has a bad effect on the taste of the vegetable and the volume of the harvest. However, cucumbers cannot tolerate an excess of this mineral supplement. Before fertilizing all cucumber plantings with potassium chloride, it is necessary to carry out selective, test fertilizing.

Select two or three plants and apply a base solution of 0.5 liters per plant. After a few days, see if the growth of the lashes has improved and if the color of the leaves has changed. If the plants are in order, you can feed the rest of the plantings.

In greenhouse conditions, it is enough to apply a liquid additive 2 times during the growing season; in open ground, the application increases to 3–5 times. Liquid fertilizing is applied to well-watered soil or after rain. Autumn fertilizing for plowing and starting spring fertilizer for cucumbers are not required.

It is not recommended to apply potassium chloride to grapes, since this delicate plant does not tolerate chlorine. However, grapes need potassium supplements to increase frost resistance, better ripening of berries and vine growth.

Fruit trees

Fruit trees, especially apple trees, require potassium feeding and tolerate chlorine-containing fertilizers well. On average, 150 g of potassium chloride is applied to a fruit tree. The volume of fertilizing can be adjusted depending on the type of soil. For chernozem, the dose can be reduced to 120 g, and for light soils increased to 180 g.

They apply granules when loosening the moist soil, but it is better to make a solution and water the trees during fruiting.

Flowers

How to use phosphorus-potassium fertilizers

Potassium chloride is better known to the public as a food emulsifier under the number E508. Its properties as a stabilizer and salt substitute make it very useful in the food industry. Sometimes potassium chloride is called by other names: potassium salt of hydrochloric acid, sylvine, potassium hydrochloride, potassium chloride, Potassium chloride, sylvine or kalium chloratum.

In appearance, potassium chloride looks like white crystals, odorless, but with the characteristic taste of ordinary salt. In the natural environment, potassium chloride can be found in the rock sylvinite, as well as in the minerals sylvinite and carnallite.

For the food industry, potassium chloride is obtained chemically by mixing hydrochloric acid and potassium hydroxide. Another way to obtain this substance is to extract it from sylvite using halurgy and flotation. Once potassium chloride has been prepared, it has the chemical formula KCl. The substance is highly soluble in water, but completely insoluble in alcohol. Potassium chloride melts at a temperature of 770 degrees and boils at 1407 degrees Celsius.

Use of potassium chloride in medicine

In addition to its widespread use in the food industry, potassium chloride is also actively used in medicine. Its use helps in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia. This is explained by the properties of the substance - in small doses, potassium chloride dilates the coronary vessels, and in large doses, on the contrary, it narrows.

Also, the use of potassium chloride is useful in case of a lack of potassium in the body, as well as in treating the consequences of poisoning after the administration of cardiac diuretics and glycosides. The substance helps activate many cytoplasmic enzymes, regulates intracellular pressure, helps protein synthesis, conduction of nerve impulses and contraction of skeletal muscles. Increasing potassium levels reduces the risk of spreading toxins after the use of cardiac glycosides.

In limited doses, potassium chloride helps normalize the acid-base balance of the body, and also replenishes the insufficient amount of potassium in the body. Potassium chloride helps transport essential amino acids and has a beneficial effect on the conduction of nerve impulses.

If a person has oxygen deficiency in his blood vessels, he can use potassium chloride as a dietary supplement. Its use has shown good preventive and therapeutic results.

Other uses of potassium chloride

Emulsifier E508, known to us all as potassium chloride, is widely used by confectionery and dairy enterprises as a stabilizer in the production of powdered and condensed milk, cream and other similar products. Potassium chloride is also often used as a salt substitute as an additive in dietary products. In addition, this substance stimulates the creation of a nutrient medium for the growth of yeast cultures. Potassium chloride is also widely used in agriculture as part of the vast majority of potash fertilizers.

Contraindications to the use of potassium chloride

If the patient is hypersensitive to certain drugs containing potassium chloride, or has chronic or acute renal failure, it is better to avoid using this substance. Also, it cannot be used in case of complete heart block, or during therapy with potassium-sparing diuretics, metabolic disorders of the body (hypovolemia with hyponatremia, acidosis), and during acute attacks of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The effect of potassium chloride on pregnancy and the effectiveness of the substance in treating children under 18 years of age have not yet been established.

Video about potassium chloride

POTASSIUM CHLORIDE(Kalii chloridum). Synonyms: Potassium chloride, Kalium chloratum, Potassium Chloride.

Potassium chloride- these are colorless crystals or odorless white crystalline powder; salty taste. Soluble in water (1:3), practically insoluble in alcohol.

Formula: KCl

Potassium chloride is obtained by processing potash ores using halurgical and flotation methods. The main raw materials for the production of potassium chloride are natural potassium salts (sylvinite and carnallite - salts with a pure substance content of 12-15% with admixtures of sodium and magnesium salts).

Use of potassium chloride

Potassium chloride is used as a fertilizer in agriculture and retail trade, as well as for industry in the production of chemical products and other purposes: the production of leather substitutes, synthetic rubber, baker's and feed yeast, therapeutic and prophylactic salt.

Potassium chloride is a concentrated potassium fertilizer. It is a white crystalline substance and easily dissolves in water. The K2O nutrient content is between 52-62%. Potassium chloride is used on any soil as the main fertilizer. It is especially effective when used for root crops, potatoes, sunflowers, fruits and other crops. On potassium-poor light soils and peat bogs, all agricultural crops without exception require potassium fertilizers. Potash fertilizers are usually used in combination with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers.

In addition to increasing productivity, potassium fertilizers improve the quality characteristics of grown products: this is manifested in increasing plant resistance to diseases, increasing the resistance of fruits during storage and transportation, as well as improving their taste and aesthetic qualities.

Many potash fertilizers are natural potassium salts used in agriculture in ground form. A significant amount of chlorine in many potassium fertilizers negatively affects the growth and development of plants, and the sodium content (in potassium salt and sylvinite) worsens the physicochemical properties of many soils, especially chernozem, chestnut and solonetz soils

Production technology

Potassium chloride is obtained from sylvinite using the methods of halurgy and flotation.

• Flotation method The enrichment of sylvinite ores is carried out in saturated salt solutions. It is based on selective hydrophobization of the surface of potassium minerals by collector reagents, creating conditions for the particles to attach to air bubbles and extract them into a foam product. The flotation processing method includes preparatory operations on the size of mineral grains (grinding and classification) and on the separation of clay-carbonate slurries (de-sliming). The final concentrate, containing 95.3-96.2% KCl, is dehydrated and dried. Flotation "tails" with a KCL content of 2.5-3.0% after dehydration are transported for storage at a salt dump. The sludge product, after thickening and clarification of the liquors, is transported to a sludge storage facility. The extraction of useful components using the flotation processing method is 84-85%.
• Halurgical method. This process of processing potassium-containing raw materials is based on the dissolution of potassium chloride from ore with a hot solution at 120° and separate crystallization of the salt components of the processed ore. Galurgy (translated from Greek as “salt work”) includes the study of the composition and properties of natural salt raw materials and the development of methods for the industrial production of mineral salts from them. The halurgical separation method is based on the different solubility of KCl and NaCl in water at elevated temperatures. The technological process of the halurgical method consists of crushing sylvinite ore, dissolving sylvinite with hot liquor in solvents with screw mixers and bucket elevators, cooling (for the purpose of crystallization of potassium chloride from a clarified saturated solution ) thickening in settling tanks. Then the thickened suspension is fed through an intermediate mixer to the centrifuge. Drying of filtered potassium chloride is carried out on drying drums or fluidized bed furnaces. The content of potassium chloride in the concentrate is 95-98%, in halite waste 2.5-3.0%, recovery 86.5-87.5%. To isolate potassium chloride, this method is used more widely than the flotation method, which is based on different wettability of substances.

Various brands of potassium chloride are produced in Russia.

WMOP (white chloride of potassium)

• White potassium chloride is produced in processing plants from sylvinite ore, which is a type of potash ore. OJSC "Uralkali" is the only manufacturer of white (halurgic) potassium chloride with a K2O content of at least 62% in fine-crystalline and standard (dust-free) forms in the Russian Federation.
• Sylvinite ore is delivered by conveyor to chemical processing plants, where it is crushed for further processing. After grinding to the required size, sylvinite is mixed with the mother liquor - a solution of magnesium chloride and potassium chloride - to carry out the leaching process
• The mother liquor dissolves the salt in the sylvinite ore, leaving a higher concentration of potassium chloride in suspension. The salt waste is removed and pumped into a separate chamber along with the mother liquor removed from this waste. The mother liquor is pumped back into the leaching chamber
• The useful slurry resulting from the leaching process is purified of impurities in a hot concentrator, which separates and removes clay waste and salt impurities, leaving behind a hot, concentrated liquid. Some of the waste from the refining process that still contains useful amounts of potassium chloride is pumped back into the leach chamber to recover even more potassium chloride.
• The hot concentrate is placed into a crystallization system, where it is instantly cooled and further crystallized. This process produces a purified suspension of potassium crystals, which is dried using hydrocyclones and industrial centrifuges to produce a potassium “clump.”
• The curd is transported to a drum dryer powered by liquid fuel or natural gas for final water removal. The moisture content of the final product - dry white potassium chloride - is less than 0.2% by weight

PMOP (pink potassium chloride)

• Pink potassium chloride is produced in flotation concentrators
• Once mined, the bulk of the potash ore is transported by conveyor belt to a nearby factory where it is crushed in preparation for subsequent processing.
• Once crushed to the required size, the potash ore is subjected to desliming, a process in which fine materials such as clay and sand are separated from the potash ore through turbulence in hydrocyclone machines.
• The desliming process is completed by placing the partially purified potash ore into a flotation machine, in which certain chemicals create bubbles that adhere to the potassium chloride particles and push the particles to the surface of the mixture for subsequent separation.
• The resulting froth mixture is purified in a flotation machine three times to increase the concentration of potassium chloride. A high degree of potassium moisture leads to the formation of lumps during storage and transportation, as well as to the destruction of the granular structure
• To reduce the humidity level to 5%, OJSC Uralkali uses separators, vacuum filters and heat chambers. Further drying in a vertical tube dryer at high temperatures reduces the moisture content from 5% to approximately 0.1%
• The product is then treated with chemicals to prevent the potassium particles from clumping and to prevent dust from forming when the product is applied to the soil.

GMOP (granulate)

• The granulate production process is identical to that used in the production of pink potassium chloride until the final drying stage is completed.
• At this stage, instead of preparing for shipment, the dried potash powder is compressed into lumps using roller presses under a pressure of 250 atmospheres
• Granules of the required size are separated through sieves, which are designed to remove sharp edges and cracks, and are also hardened in heat chambers to increase strength. The resulting granules are treated with chemicals to prevent the formation of lumps from the granules, as well as to prevent the formation of dust when applied to the soil
• Currently, OJSC Uralkali produces Granulate as a complement to the production of pink potassium chloride, but in the event of further growth in demand for Granulate, OJSC Uralkali has the technology to produce Granulate from white potassium chloride

Potassium sulfate occurs naturally in potassium salt deposits and in the waters of salt lakes. It can be obtained by an exchange reaction between potassium chloride and sulfuric acid or sulfates of other elements.

Safety requirements

Potassium chloride is non-flammable, fire- and explosion-proof, and according to the degree of impact on the body, it belongs to substances of the 3rd hazard class.

Transportation, storage

Potassium chloride is transported in bulk or in packaged form by rail, river and road transport. The product, packaged in soft containers, is transported by rail on open rolling stock.
Potassium chloride is stored in closed warehouses that exclude the ingress of precipitation and groundwater.

physical and chemical indicators