Sodium Pyrophosphate (CAS: 7722-88-5)

Sodium Pyrophosphate is a colorless transparent crystalline chemical compound with the formula Na4P2O7. It is a salt composed of pyrophosphate and sodium ions. Toxicity is approximately twice that of table salt when ingested orally. There is also a hydrated form, Na4P2O7·10(H2O).

Sodium pyrophosphate is used as a buffering agent, an emulsifier, a dispersing agent, and a thickening agent, and is often used as a food additive. Common foods containing sodium pyrophosphate include chicken nuggets, marshmallows, pudding, crab meat, imitation crab, canned tuna, and soy-based meatalternatives and cat foods and cat treats where it is used as a palatability enhancer. It is the active ingredient in Bakewell, the substitute for baking powder’s acid component marketed during shortages in World War II. It is also used in some common baking powders.

In toothpaste and dental floss, sodium pyrophosphate acts as a tartar control agent, serving to remove calcium and magnesium from saliva and thus preventing them from being deposited on teeth. Tetrasodium pyrophosphate is used in commercial dental rinses before brushing to aid in plaque reduction.

Sodium pyrophosphate is sometimes used in household detergents to prevent similar deposition on clothing, but due to its phosphate content it causeseutrophication of water, promoting algae growth.

Calcium pyrophosphate is the crystal deposited in joints in the medical condition pseudogout.

Production

Tetrasodium phosphate is produced by the reaction of furnace-grade phosphoric acid with sodium carbonate to form disodium phosphate, which is then heated to 450 °C to form tetrasodium phosphate.

Application

The plating solution for electroplating industry, can form complex with iron.Wool spinning industry is used as the wool degreasing agent and bleaching agent.Papermaking industry used for bleaching paper and plant fiber.Printing and dyeing industry as additives for the essence of printing and dyeing, bleaching. Daily chemical industry is used as additive in toothpaste, can form with calcium hydrogen phosphate colloid and stable effect, can also be used in synthetic detergent and cream shampoo and other products. As a water softener in water treatment. As rust remover in the mechanical processing. In the chemical production is used as dispersant and emulsifier. Can also be used for water treatment, oil drilling, etc., in the food industry as improver, emulsifier, buffer, chelating agent, etc.

Sodium pyrophosphate is the function of demineralized water, can dissolve insoluble salts of calcium, magnesium, such as clothes fiber, mixed live insoluble calcium soap or other metallic soap formation of dirt, it can make it to dissolve and improve decontamination ability. In addition, sodium pyrophosphate deflocculation, make fat emulsification, this is known as peptizing properties. Also can make the surfactant solution to further reduce the surface tension and interfacial tension, washing help wash effect.