Sodium nitrate

Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula

Sodium nitrate
NaNO3 . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Chile
saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in
Chile)[4][5] to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium
nitrate. The mineral form is also known as nitratine, nitratite or
soda niter.

Sodium nitrate is a white deliquescent solid very soluble in water.

It is a readily available source of the nitrate anion (NO3 −), which
is useful in several reactions carried out on industrial scales for
the production of fertilizers, pyrotechnics, smoke bombs and
other explosives, glass and pottery enamels, food preservatives
(esp. meats), and solid rocket propellant. It has been mined
extensively for these purposes.

Contents
History Names
Occurrence IUPAC name
Synthesis Sodium nitrate

Uses Other names

Food Peru saltpeter

Thermal storage Soda niter

cubic niter
Health concerns
Identifiers
See also
CAS Number 7631-99-4 (https://co
References
mmonchemistry.cas.
Further reading org/detail?cas_rn=76
External links 31-99-4) 
3D model Interactive image (htt
(JSmol)
History ps://chemapps.stolaf.
edu/jmol/jmol.php?m
The first shipment of saltpeter to Europe arrived in England from odel=%5BNa%2B%5
Peru in 1820 or 1825, right after that country's independence D.%5BO-%5D%5B
from Spain, but did not find any buyers and was dumped at sea in N%2B%5D%28%5B
order to avoid customs toll.[6][7] With time, however, the mining O-%5D%29%3DO)
of South American saltpeter became a profitable business (in ChEMBL ChEMBL1644698 (ht
1859, England alone consumed 47,000 metric tons[7]). Chile
tps://www.ebi.ac.uk/c
fought the War of the Pacific (1879–1884) against the allies Peru
hembldb/index.php/c
and Bolivia and took over their richest deposits of saltpeter. In ompound/inspect/Ch
1919, Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff determined its crystal EMBL1644698) 
structure using X-ray crystallography.
ChemSpider 22688 (https://www.c
hemspider.com/Che

Occurrence mical-Structure.2268
8.html) 
The largest accumulations of naturally occurring sodium nitrate ECHA 100.028.686 (https://
are found in Chile and Peru, where nitrate salts are bound within InfoCard echa.europa.eu/subs
mineral deposits called caliche ore.[8] Nitrates accumulate on land tance-information/-/s
through marine-fog precipitation and sea-spray ubstanceinfo/100.02
oxidation/desiccation followed by gravitational settling of 8.686)
airborne NaNO3 , KNO3 , NaCl, Na2 SO4 , and I, in the hot-dry
EC Number 231-554-3
desert atmosphere.[9] El Niño/La Niña extreme aridity/torrential
rain cycles favor nitrates accumulation through both aridity and E number E251 (preservatives)
water solution/remobilization/transportation onto slopes and into PubChem 24268 (https://pubch
basins; capillary solution movement forms layers of nitrates; pure CID
nitrate forms rare veins. For more than a century, the world em.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
supply of the compound was mined almost exclusively from the compound/24268)
Atacama desert in northern Chile until, at the turn of the 20th RTECS WC5600000
century, German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed number
a process for producing ammonia from the atmosphere on an
industrial scale (see Haber process). With the onset of World War UNII 8M4L3H2ZVZ (http
I, Germany began converting ammonia from this process into a s://fdasis.nlm.nih.go
synthetic Chilean saltpeter, which was as practical as the natural v/srs/srsdirect.jsp?re
compound in production of gunpowder and other munitions. By gno=8M4L3H2ZVZ) 
the 1940s, this conversion process resulted in a dramatic decline
UN number 1498
in demand for sodium nitrate procured from natural sources.
CompTox DTXSID6020937 (htt
Chile still has the largest reserves of caliche, with active mines in Dashboard ps://comptox.epa.go
such locations as Pedro de Valdivia, María Elena and Pampa (EPA)
v/dashboard/chemica
Blanca, and there it used to be called white gold.[4][5] Sodium l/details/DTXSID6020
nitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium sulfate and iodine are all
937)
obtained by the processing of caliche. The former Chilean
saltpeter mining communities of Humberstone and Santa Laura InChI
were declared Unesco World Heritage sites in 2005. InChI=1S/NO3.Na/c2-1(3)4;/q-1;+1  
Key: VWDWKYIASSYTQR-UHFFFA
OYSA-N 
Synthesis
InChI=1/NO3.Na/c2-1(3)4;/q-1;+1
Sodium nitrate is also synthesized industrially by neutralizing Key: VWDWKYIASSYTQR-UHFFFA
OYAL
nitric acid with sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate:
SMILES
2 HNO3 + Na2CO3 → 2 NaNO3 + H2O + CO2
[Na+].[O-][N+]([O-])=O
HNO3 + NaHCO3 → NaNO3 + H2O + CO2 Properties
Chemical NaNO3
or also by neutralizing it with sodium hydroxide (however, this formula
reaction is very exothermic):
Molar mass 84.9947 g/mol
HNO3 + NaOH → NaNO3 + H2O Appearance White powder or
colorless crystals
or by mixing stoichiometric amounts of ammonium nitrate and Odor sweet
sodium hydroxide, sodium bicarbonate or sodium carbonate:
Density 2.257 g/cm3, solid
NH4NO3 + NaOH → NaNO3 + NH4OH Melting point 308 °C (586 °F;
581 K)
NH4NO3 + NaHCO3 → NaNO3 + NH4HCO3
Boiling point 380 °C (716 °F;
2NH4NO3 + Na2CO3 → 2NaNO3 + (NH4)2CO3 653 K) decomposes
Solubility in 73 g/100 g water (0
water
Uses °C)
91.2 g/100 g water
Most sodium nitrate is used in fertilizers, where it supplies a water (25 °C)[1][2]
soluble form of nitrogen. Its use, which is mainly outside of the 180 g/100 g water
Western World, is attractive since it does not alter the pH of the (100 °C)
soil. Another major use is as a complement to ammonium nitrate Solubility very soluble in
in explosives. Molten sodium nitrate and its solutions with
ammonia, hydrazine
potassium nitrate have good thermal stability (up to 600 °C) and
soluble in alcohol
high heat capacities. These properties are suitable for thermally
annealing metals and for storing thermal energy in solar slightly soluble in
applications.[10] pyridine
insoluble in acetone
Magnetic −25.6·10−6 cm3/mol
Food susceptibility
(χ)
Sodium nitrate is also a food additive used as a preservative and Refractive 1.587 (trigonal)
color fixative in cured meats and poultry; it is listed under its INS index (nD) 1.336
number 251 or E number E251. It is approved for use in the
(rhombohedral)
EU,[11] US[12] and Australia and New Zealand.[13] Sodium
nitrate should not be confused with sodium nitrite, which is also a Viscosity 2.85 cP (317 °C)
common food additive and preservative used, for example, in deli Structure
meats.
Crystal trigonal and
structure rhombohedral
Thermal storage Thermochemistry

Sodium nitrate has also been investigated as a phase-change Heat capacity 93.05 J/(mol K)
(C)
material for thermal energy recovery, owing to its relatively high
melting enthalpy of 178 J/g.[14][15] Examples of the applications Std molar 116 J/(mol K)[3]
of sodium nitrate used for thermal energy storage include solar entropy
thermal power technologies and direct steam generating parabolic (S o298)
troughs.[14] Std enthalpy −467 kJ/mol[3]
of
formation
Health concerns (Δ f H ⦵298)

Studies have shown a link between increased levels of nitrates Gibbs free −365.9 kJ/mol
energy
and increased deaths from certain diseases including Alzheimer's
(Δ f G˚)
disease, diabetes mellitus, stomach cancer, and Parkinson's
disease: possibly through the damaging effect of nitrosamines on Hazards
DNA; however, little has been done to control for other possible Occupational safety and health
causes in the epidemiological results.[16] Nitrosamines, formed in (OHS/OSH):
cured meats containing sodium nitrate and nitrite, have been
linked to gastric cancer and esophageal cancer.[17] Sodium nitrate Main Harmful (Xn)
and nitrite are associated with a higher risk of colorectal hazards Oxidant (O)
cancer.[18]
GHS labelling:
Substantial evidence in recent decades, facilitated by an increased Pictograms
understanding of pathological processes and science, exists in
support of the theory that processed meat increases the risk of
colon cancer and that this is due to the nitrate content. A small NFPA 704
amount of the nitrate added to meat as a preservative breaks (fire diamond) 0
down into nitrite, in addition to any nitrite that may also be added.
1 0
OX
The nitrite then reacts with protein-rich foods (such as meat) to
produce carcinogenic NOCs (nitroso compounds). NOCs can be Flash point Non-flammable
formed either when meat is cured or in the body as meat is
digested.[19] Lethal dose or concentration (LD,
LC):
However, several things complicate the otherwise straightforward LD50 3236 mg/kg
understanding of "nitrates in food raise your risk of cancer": (median
Commonly consumed plants are well known to be rich sources of dose)
nitrates. In fact, exposure of nitrates from plants may even be
Safety data ICSC 0185 (http://ww
higher than meat for most people. Processed meats have no fiber,
sheet (SDS) w.inchem.org/docum
vitamins, or phytochemical antioxidants, are high in sodium, may
ents/icsc/icsc/eics018
contain high fat, and are often fried or cooked at a temperature
sufficient to degrade protein into nitrosamines, and typically not 5.htm)
consumed as part of a nutritious, balanced diet with high fiber, Related compounds
vitamins, minerals, and the like. Nitrates are key intermediates Other anions Sodium nitrite
and effectors in the primary vasculature signaling which is
necessary for all mammals to survive.[20] Other cations Lithium nitrate
Potassium nitrate
Rubidium nitrate
See also Caesium nitrate
Sodium nitrite Related Sodium sulfate
compounds Sodium chloride

References Except where otherwise noted, data

are given for materials in their
1. Haynes, William M. (2016-06-22). CRC Handbook of standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F],
Chemistry and Physics (https://books.google.com/book 100 kPa).
s?id=VVezDAAAQBAJ). CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-  verify (what is   ?)
4987-5429-3.
Infobox references
2. "Sodium nitrate" (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/co
mpound/Sodium-nitrate#section=Solubility).
PubChem. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
3. Zumdahl, Steven S. (2009). Chemical Principles 6th
Ed. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. A23. ISBN 978-0-
618-94690-7.
4. "The Nitrate Towns of Chile" (https://www.atlasobscura.
com/places/nitrate-towns-chile). Atlas Obscura.
Retrieved 27 May 2019.
 5. Mutic, Anja (26 October 2012). "The ghost towns of
northern Chile" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifest
yle/travel/the-ghost-towns-of-northern-chile/2012/10/2
5/fa4adad0-16e2-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.htm
l). Washington Post. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
6. S. H. Baekeland "Några sidor af den kemiska
industrien" (1914) Svensk Kemisk Tidskrift, p. 140 (htt
p://runeberg.org/svkemtid/1914/0144.html).
7. Friedrich Georg Wieck, Uppfinningarnas bok (1873,
Swedish translation of Buch der Erfindungen), vol. 4, p. Advertisement for sodium nitrate
473 (http://runeberg.org/uppfinn/4/0485.html). fertilizer from Chile on a wall of a
8. Stephen R. Bown, A Most Damnable Invention: village in the Algarve area of
Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern Portugal
World, Macmillan, 2005, ISBN 0-312-32913-X, p. 157.
9. Arias, Jaime (24 Jul 2003). On the Origin of Saltpeter,
Northern Chile Coast (https://web.archive.org/web/201
60304100458/https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/inqu/finalpro
gram/abstract_55601.htm). International Union for
Quaternary Research. Archived from the original (http
s://gsa.confex.com/gsa/inqu/finalprogram/abstract_556
01.htm) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 Aug 2018.
10. Laue, Wolfgang; Thiemann, Michael; Scheibler, Erich;
Wiegand, Karl (2000). "Nitrates and Nitrites".
Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry.
Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.
doi:10.1002/14356007.a17_265 (https://doi.org/10.100
2%2F14356007.a17_265).
11. UK Food Standards Agency: "Current EU approved
additives and their E Numbers" (http://www.food.gov.u
k/safereating/chemsafe/additivesbranch/enumberlist).
Retrieved 2011-10-27.
12. US Food and Drug Administration: "Listing of Food
Additives Status Part II" (https://www.fda.gov/Food/Foo
dIngredientsPackaging/FoodAdditives/ucm191033.htm
#ftnT). Retrieved 2011-10-27.
13. Australia New Zealand Food Standards
Code"Standard 1.2.4 – Labelling of ingredients" (http://
www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2011C00827). Retrieved
2011-10-27.
14. Bauer, Thomas; Laing, Doerte; Tamme, Rainer (2011-
11-15). "Characterization of Sodium Nitrate as Phase
Change Material" (https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10765-0
11-1113-9). International Journal of Thermophysics. 33
(1): 91–104. doi:10.1007/s10765-011-1113-9 (https://d
oi.org/10.1007%2Fs10765-011-1113-9). ISSN 0195-
928X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0195-928X).
S2CID 54513228 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/Corp
usID:54513228).
15. Sabbah (France, Chairman); Xu-Wu (China), An;
Chickos (Usa), J.S.; Leitão (Portugal), M.L.Planas;
Roux (Spain), M.V.; Torres (México), L.A. (1999-06-14).
"Reference materials for calorimetry and differential
thermal analysis" (https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien
ce/article/abs/pii/S004060319900009X).
Thermochimica Acta. 331 (2): 93–204.
doi:10.1016/S0040-6031(99)00009-X (https://doi.org/1
0.1016%2FS0040-6031%2899%2900009-X).
ISSN 0040-6031 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0040-6
031).
16. De La Monte, SM; Neusner, A; Chu, J; Lawton, M
(2009). "Epidemilogical trends strongly suggest
exposures as etiologic agents in the pathogenesis of
sporadic Alzheimer's disease, diabetes mellitus, and
non-alcoholic steatohepatitis" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.ni
h.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4551511). Journal of
Alzheimer's Disease. 17 (3): 519–29. doi:10.3233/JAD-
2009-1070 (https://doi.org/10.3233%2FJAD-2009-107
0). PMC 4551511 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ar
ticles/PMC4551511). PMID 19363256 (https://pubmed.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19363256).
17. Jakszyn, Paula; Gonzalez, Carlos-Alberto (21 Jul
2006). "Nitrosamine and related food intake and gastric
and oesophageal cancer risk: a systematic review of
the epidemiological evidence" (http://ecnis.openreposit
ory.com/ecnis/handle/10146/25215). World Journal of
Gastroenterology. 12 (27): 4296–4303.
doi:10.3748/wjg.v12.i27.4296 (https://doi.org/10.3748%
2Fwjg.v12.i27.4296). PMC 4087738 (https://www.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4087738).
PMID 16865769 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1686
5769).
18. Cross, AJ; Ferrucci, LM; Risch, A; Graubard, BI; Ward,
MH; Park, Y; Hollenbeck, AR; Schatzkin, A; Sinha, R
(2010). "A large prospective study of meat
consumption and colorectal cancer risk: An
investigation of potential mechanisms underlying this
association" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article
s/PMC2840051). Cancer Research. 70 (6): 2406–14.
doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-3929 (https://doi.org/1
0.1158%2F0008-5472.CAN-09-3929). PMC 2840051
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC284005
1). PMID 20215514 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2
0215514).
19. "The Associations between Food, Nutrition and
Physical Activity and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer" (ht
tp://www.wcrf.org/sites/default/files/SLR_colorectal_ca
ncer_2010.pdf), World Cancer Research Fund (2010)
20. Machha, Ajay; Schechter, Alan N. (August 2011).
"Dietary nitrite and nitrate: a review of potential
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6413).

Further reading
Archer, Donald G. (2000). "Thermodynamic properties of the NaNO3 + H2O system".
Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data. 29 (5): 1141–1156.
Bibcode:2000JPCRD..29.1141A
(https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000JPCRD..29.1141A). doi:10.1063/1.1329317 (https://
doi.org/10.1063%2F1.1329317). ISSN 0047-2689 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0047-268
9).
Barnum, Dennis (2003). "Some history of nitrates". Journal of Chemical Education. 80 (12):
1393–. Bibcode:2003JChEd..80.1393B (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003JChEd..80.1
393B). doi:10.1021/ed080p1393 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fed080p1393).
Mullin, J. W. (1997). Crystallization (https://books.google.com/books?id=TiVuQgAACAAJ).
Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-3759-6.

External links
：
CHORI CO., LTD. https://chori-mukifine.com/en/sodium-nitrate/
ATSDR – Case Studies in Environmental Medicine – Nitrate/Nitrite Toxicity (https://www.ats
dr.cdc.gov/csem/nitrate/) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (public domain)
FAO/WHO report (http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v38aje06.htm)
Calculators: surface tensions (http://www.aim.env.uea.ac.uk/aim/surftens/surftens.php), and
densities, molarities and molalities (http://www.aim.env.uea.ac.uk/aim/density/density_electr
olyte.php) of aqueous sodium nitrate
Salts and covalent derivatives of the nitrate ion
HNO3

LiNO3 Be(NO3 )2

NaNO3 Mg(NO3 )2
Fe(NO3 )2 Co(NO3 )2

KNO3 Ca(NO3 )2 Sc(NO3 )3 Ti(NO3 )4 VO(NO3 )3 Cr(NO3 )3 Mn(NO3 )2 Ni(NO3 )

Fe(NO3 )3 Co(NO3 )3
Pd(NO3 )
RbNO3 Sr(NO3 )2 Y(NO3 )3 Zr(NO3 )4 Nb Mo Tc Ru(NO3 )3 Rh(NO3 )3
Pd(NO3 )
Pt(NO3 )
CsNO3 Ba(NO3 )2   Hf(NO3 )4 Ta W Re Os Ir
Pt(NO3 )4
FrNO3 Ra(NO3 )2   Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds
↓
La(NO3 )3 Ce(NO3 )3 Pr(NO3 )3 Nd(NO3 )3 Pm(NO3 )3 Sm(NO3 )3 Eu(NO3 )3 Gd(NO3 )
 Ce(NO3 )4
Ac(NO3 )3 Th(NO3 )4 PaO2 (NO3 )3 UO2 (NO3 )2 Np(NO3 )4 Pu(NO3 )4 Am(NO3 )3 Cm(NO3 )

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