Calcium Chloride Uses
Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound a salt with the chemical formula CaClI2. It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature, and it is highly soluble in water.
It can be created by neutralising hydrochloric acid with calcium hydroxide.
Calcium chloride is commonly encountered as a hydrated solid with generic formula CaCl2-nH20, wheren=0, 1, 2,4, and é.
Uses
De-icing and freezing-point depression :
By depressing the freezing point of water, calcium chloride is used to prevent ice formation and is used to de-ice.
Road surfacing :
The second largest application of calcium chloride exploits its hygroscopic nature and the tackiness of its hydrates; calcium chloride is highly hygroscopic and its hydration is an exothermic process. A concentrated solution keeps a liquid layer on the surface of dirt roads, which suppresses the formation of dust. It keeps the finer dust particles on the road, providing a cushioning layer.
Food :
- The average intake of calcium chloride as food additives has been estimated to be160-345 mg/day.[14] Calcium chloride is permitted as a food additive in the European Union for use as a sequestrant and firming agent with the E number E509. It is considered as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- As a firming agent, calcium chloride is used in canned vegetables.
- in firming soybean curds into tofu and in producing a caviar substitute from vegetable or fruit juices.
- It is commonly used as an electrolyte in sports drinks and other beverages, including bottled water.
- The extremely salty taste of calcium chloride is used to flavor pickles without increasing the food’s sodium content.
- In brewing beer, calcium chloride is sometimes used to correct mineral deficiencies in the brewing water.
- In cheesemaking, calcium chloride is sometimes added to processed (pasteurized/ homogenized) milk to restore the natural balance between calcium and protein in casein. Calcium chloride is used to prevent cork spot and bitter pit on apples by spraying on the tree during the late growing season.
Other applications :
Calcium chloride is used in concrete mixes to accelerate the initial setting, but chloride ions lead to corrosion of steel rebar, so it should not be used in reinforced concrete.
The anhydrous form of calcium chloride may also be used for this purpose and can provide a measure of the moisture in concrete.
Calcium chloride is included as an additive in plastics and in fire extinguishers, in blast furnaces as an additive to control scaffolding (clumping and adhesion of materials that prevent the furnace charge from descending), and in fabric softener as a thinner.
The exothermic dissolution of calcium chloride is used in self-heating cans and heating pads.
In the oil industry, calcium chloride is used to increase the density of solids-free brines. It is also used to provide inhibition of swelling clays in the water phase of invert emulsion drilling fluids.
CaCl2 acts as flux material, decreasing the melting point.
Calcium chloride is also used in the production of activated charcoal.
Calcium chloride can be used to precipitate fluoride ions from water as insoluble CaF2.
Calcium chloride is also an ingredient used in ceramic slipware.
Calcium chloride dihydrate (20 percent by weight) dissolved in ethanol (95 percent
Cocaine producers in Colombia import tons of calcium chloride to recover solvents that are on the INCB Red List and are more tightly controlled. [24]
Metal reduction flux :
CaCl2 is used as a flux and electrolyte in the FFC Cambridge electrolysis process for titanium production.