Muriate of potash

Potassium chloride [7447-40-7] or muriate of potash (MOP) as it is known in the fertilizer industry (at about 97% purity), is the world s most commonly used potash (5). Chemical-grade potassium chloride (99.9%) is the basis for manufactured production of most potassium salts (10). 

Sizing. In most flotation plants, flotation concentrates, after being dried, are sized into three fractions and each serves a specific agricultural market. The fractions are coarse-, standard-, and suspension-grades of muriate of potash. Typical screen analyses are presented in Table 6 other physical characteristics are summarized in Table 7. 

In Canada, ion-exchange (qv) technology has been used to produce potassium sulfate (4). Ion-exchange resins remove sulfate ions from lake water containing sodium sulfate. This is followed by a wash with aqueous solutions prepared from lower grade muriate of potash. High purity potassium sulfate is collected from the crystallizers into which the wash mns. 

Occurrence. Muriate of potash [7447 0-7] KCl, and sulfate of potash [7778-80-5] K2SO4, are produced from brines in the United States... 

Bark, wood, refuse 10-20 H37X5 Muriate of potash 77 B28... 

Muriate of potash (MOP), 5 785t 20 611 recovery from brine, 5 798-799 screen analysis of, 20 619t Muriazite, 5 785t... 

The industrial term potash can be very misleading. It can refer to potassium carbonate (K2CO3), potassium hydroxide (KOH), potassium chloride (KCl), potassium sulfate (K2SO4), potassium nitrate (KNO3), or collectively to all potassium salts and to the oxide K2O. More correctly KOH is called caustic potash and KCl is called muriate of potash. Production is recorded in weight equivalents of K2O since almost all potash is used as fertilizer and this industry quotes weight percentages of K2O in its trade. 

The term potash generally refers to potassium chloride, but it is also used to designate other potassium compounds that may be qualified by the words muriate of potash, sulfate of potash, etc. 

The name potash derives from an early production method in which potassium carbonate, leached from wood ashes, was crystallized by evaporating the leachate in large iron pots. The salt potassium chloride (muriate of potash or KC1) is now the major source of the element (95%) other important salts are potassium sulfate (sulfate of potash, K2S04), potassium magnesium sulfates of varying K/Mg ratios, and potassium nitrate (KN03). 

The ore zone or stratum typically contains potassium or potassium-magnesium minerals along with halite (sodium chloride). Muriate of potash is refined from sylvinite ore, a mechanical mixture of potassium chloride (KC1) and sodium chloride (NaCl). Because the latter salt is injurious to most crop plants, the KC1 (sylvite) must be separated from the NaCl (halite). 

Potassium chloride, muriate of potash, is the principal component used as such to supply the potassium macronutrient in fertilizer formulations. Some crops with a low chloride tolerance, such as tobacco, may require the chloride to be replaced by nitrate, carbonate, or sulfate anion to be useful (e.g., Eq. 11.65). 

Potassium is a component of many of Earth s minerals, including muriate of potash or sylvite (KCl), carnallite (KCl x MgCl2 x 6H20), lang-... 

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