<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Potassium nitrate as a fertilizer suitable for greenhouse and hydroponic applications can be prepared by the reaction of potassium sulphate with calcium nitrate. However, it may happen that simultaneously with the precipitation of gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) also two other binary salts, viz. syngenite (K2SO4·CaSO4·H2O) and görgeyite (K2SO4·5CaSO4·H2O) can crystallize. This would lower the yield of KNO3. For minimization of potassium loss we have to determine the conditions under which syngenite and görgeyite crystallize. As a useful tool for the quantitative determination of specific hydrates, simultaneous DTA/TG technique appeared. Each hydrate decomposes at a certain temperature. The loss of water at dehydration can be used for a quantitative determination of the amount of the hydrate in the precipitating solid phase. Based on the experimental data several conclusions can be drawn: (i) excess of calcium cations lowers the concentration of sulphate ions in the liquid phase together with lowering of contents of syngenite and görgeyite in the solid phase; (ii) higher content of water results in a higher solubility of sulphate ions; (iii) joint crystallization of syngenite and gypsum occurs in the composition area interesting from the point of KNO3 production; (iv) area of the primary crystallization of görgeyite does not exist in the phase diagram at 80 °C. However, görgeyite crystallizes at the molar ratio Ca(NO3)2:K2SO4 = 1:1 by ternary crystallization; (v) area of crystallization of pure gypsum is shifted to lower ratio Ca(NO3)2:K2SO4 by the addition of water to the system.</abstract>

Potassium nitrate as a fertilizer suitable for greenhouse and hydroponic applications can be prepared by the reaction of potassium sulphate with calcium nitrate. However, it may happen that simultaneously with the precipitation of gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) also two other binary salts, viz. syngenite (K2SO4·CaSO4·H2O) and görgeyite (K2SO4·5CaSO4·H2O) can crystallize. This would lower the yield of KNO3. For minimization of potassium loss we have to determine the conditions under which syngenite and görgeyite crystallize. As a useful tool for the quantitative determination of specific hydrates, simultaneous DTA/TG technique appeared. Each hydrate decomposes at a certain temperature. The loss of water at dehydration can be used for a quantitative determination of the amount of the hydrate in the precipitating solid phase. Based on the experimental data several conclusions can be drawn: (i) excess of calcium cations lowers the concentration of sulphate ions in the liquid phase together with lowering of contents of syngenite and görgeyite in the solid phase; (ii) higher content of water results in a higher solubility of sulphate ions; (iii) joint crystallization of syngenite and gypsum occurs in the composition area interesting from the point of KNO3 production; (iv) area of the primary crystallization of görgeyite does not exist in the phase diagram at 80 °C. However, görgeyite crystallizes at the molar ratio Ca(NO3)2:K2SO4 = 1:1 by ternary crystallization; (v) area of crystallization of pure gypsum is shifted to lower ratio Ca(NO3)2:K2SO4 by the addition of water to the system.

Phase diagram of the system CaSO4—K2SO4—KNO3—Ca(NO3)2—H2O

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Technology and Materials, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology STU in Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

VUCHT, a.s., Nobelova 34, 836 03 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Acta Chimica Slovaca

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Phase diagram of the system CaSO—KSO—KNO—Ca(NO)—HO

Potassium nitrate as a fertilizer suitable for greenhouse and hydroponic applications can be prepared by the reaction of potassium sulphate with calcium...

Phase diagram of the system CaSO₄—K₂SO₄—KNO₃—Ca(NO₃)₂—H₂O

Data publikacji: 27 maj 2014

Zakres stron: 20 - 24

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acs-2014-0004

Słowa kluczowe
görgeyite, phase diagram, potassium nitrate, syngenite

© Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Phase diagram of the system CaSO4—K2SO4—KNO3—Ca(NO3)2—H2O

Data publikacji: 27 maj 2014

Zakres stron: 20 - 24

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acs-2014-0004

Słowa kluczowegörgeyite, phase diagram, potassium nitrate, syngenite

© Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Phase diagram of the system CaSO₄—K₂SO₄—KNO₃—Ca(NO₃)₂—H₂O

Słowa kluczowe
görgeyite, phase diagram, potassium nitrate, syngenite