Nitratine

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Nitratine
Nitratine-548175.jpg
General
Category Nitrate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)		NaNO3
IMA symbol Ntt [1]
Strunz classification 5.NA.05 (10th edition)
5/A.01-10 (8th edition)
Crystal system Trigonal
Crystal class Hexagonal scalenohedral (3m)
H-M symbol: (3 2/m)
Space group R3c (no. 167)
Unit cell a = 5.06  Å, c = 16.82 Å; Z = 6
Identification
Formula mass 84.99 g/mol
ColorColorless, white, gray, yellowish, brownish
Crystal habit Granular – Generally occurs as anhedral to subhedral crystals in matrix; massive – Uniformly indistinguishable crystals forming large masses
Cleavage {1011} Perfect
Tenacity Sectile – curved shavings or scrapings produced by a knife blade
Mohs scale hardness1.5 – 2
Luster Vitreous (glassy)
Streak White
Diaphaneity Transparent
Specific gravity 2.26
Optical properties Uniaxial (−)
Refractive index nω = 1.580 – 1.587 nε = 1.330 – 1.336
Birefringence δ = 0.250–0.251
Solubility Readily soluble in water
Other characteristicsSlightly deliquescent
References [2] [3]

Nitratine or nitratite, also known as cubic niter (UK: nitre), soda niter or Chile saltpeter (UK: Chile saltpetre), is a mineral, the naturally occurring form of sodium nitrate, NaNO3. Chemically it is the sodium analogue of saltpeter. Nitratine crystallizes in the trigonal system, but rarely occurs as well-formed crystals. It is isostructural with calcite. It is relatively soft and light with a Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2 and a specific gravity of 2.24 to 2.29. Its refractive indices are nω = 1.587 and nε = 1.336. [4]

Contents

The typical form is as coatings of white, grey to yellowish brown masses. The rare crystals when found typically have the scalenohedral form of the calcite structure. It is found only as an efflorescence in very dry environments. It is very soluble in water such that it is deliquescent and will absorb water out of the air and turn into a puddle of sodium nitrate solution when exposed to humid air.

There are nitratine deposits located in arid regions across the world such as in Chile, Mexico, Egypt, Peru, and South Africa. [5] Chile is the only country to sell their deposits commercially as fertilizer. The salt bed that is mined contains more minerals than just nitratine often containing sulfurous minerals as well as Iodine. Around 600,000 tons of nitratine are mined in Chile each year with other products such as Iodine and sodium sulfate mined as well. [5]

Nitratine happens to be isostructural to calcite, CaCO3, a widespread naturally occurring mineral, although nitratine dissolution and crystallization occur much faster than the same processes for calcite. [6] The structural similarity makes nitratine a very useful mineral for laboratory experiments concerning pressure dissolution and other experiments such as serving as a proxy for the deformation and formation of calcite. [6]

The Saltpeter War (1480–1510) [7] and the War of the Pacific (1879–1884) [8] were fought over the control of saltpeter deposits.

Uses

Nitratine was once an important source of nitrates for fertilizer and other chemical uses including fireworks. It has been known since 1845 from mineral deposits in the Confidence Hills, Southern Death Valley, California and the Atacama Desert, Chile. It is still used in organic farming (where Haber–Bosch ammonia is forbidden) in the US, but prohibited in international organic agriculture. [9]

The mineral also has a wide range of applications beyond being used as a fertilizer in agricultural practices. Nitratine has been used in the explosives industry for water-containing slurry as well as gel explosives. [5] It is also used as a refining agent to remove air bubbles by the glass and enamel industries. [5] Nitratine, other alkali nitrates, or nitrites also have applications for solar technology serving as a heat-transfer or heat-storage medium. [5] Nitratine can also be used as a substitute for potassium nitrate in gunpowder. [10]

Synthetic sodium nitrate

After World War I the need for a more efficient production of fertilizer led to the production of synthetic nitratine which was much less costly in terms of production than the Shanks process used to refine chilean saltpeter. [5] The method of production involved using tail gases from nitric acid plants in combination with sodium carbonate solution or sodium hydroxide solution. Through a series of reactions it is possible to produce sodium nitrate and sodium nitrate with byproducts such as nitrogen monoxide and water. [5] The following reactions show the chemistry necessary to produce sodium nitrates:

[5]

Advertisement for Chilean saltpeter for use as fertilizer in Spain La Palma Santa Cruz Nitrato de Chile R01.jpg
Advertisement for Chilean saltpeter for use as fertilizer in Spain

See also

Related Research Articles

Saltpeter (or saltpetre) is the mineral form of potassium nitrate (KNO3), a compound

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potassium nitrate</span> Chemical compound

Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula KNO
3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−, and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate. It occurs in nature as a mineral, niter (or nitre in the UK). It is a source of nitrogen, and nitrogen was named after niter. Potassium nitrate is one of several nitrogen-containing compounds collectively referred to as saltpeter (or saltpetre in the UK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natron</span> Carbonate mineral

Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate (Na2CO3·10H2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. Natron is white to colourless when pure, varying to gray or yellow with impurities. Natron deposits are sometimes found in saline lake beds which arose in arid environments. Throughout history natron has had many practical applications that continue today in the wide range of modern uses of its constituent mineral components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium carbonate</span> Chemical compound

Sodium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water. Historically, it was extracted from the ashes of plants grown in sodium-rich soils, and because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood, sodium carbonate became known as "soda ash". It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process, as well as by carbonating sodium hydroxide which is made using the Chlor-alkali process.

A chemical equation is the symbolic representation of a chemical reaction in the form of symbols and chemical formulas. The reactant entities are given on the left-hand side and the product entities are on the right-hand side with a plus sign between the entities in both the reactants and the products, and an arrow that points towards the products to show the direction of the reaction. The chemical formulas may be symbolic, structural, or intermixed. The coefficients next to the symbols and formulas of entities are the absolute values of the stoichiometric numbers. The first chemical equation was diagrammed by Jean Beguin in 1615.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium nitrate</span> Chemical compound

Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula NaNO
3. This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Chile saltpeter to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. The mineral form is also known as nitratine, nitratite or soda niter.

The nitrite ion has the chemical formula NO−
2. Nitrite is widely used throughout chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The nitrite anion is a pervasive intermediate in the nitrogen cycle in nature. The name nitrite also refers to organic compounds having the –ONO group, which are esters of nitrous acid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niter</span> Mineral form of potassium nitrate

Niter or nitre is the mineral form of potassium nitrate, KNO3. It is a soft, white, highly soluble mineral found primarily in arid climates or cave deposits.

The nitrophosphate process is a method for the industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers invented by Erling Johnson in the municipality of Odda, Norway around 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tollens' reagent</span> Chemical reagent used to distinguish between aldehydes and ketones

Tollens' reagent is a chemical reagent used to distinguish between aldehydes and ketones along with some alpha-hydroxy ketones which can tautomerize into aldehydes. The reagent consists of a solution of silver nitrate, ammonium hydroxide and some sodium hydroxide. It was named after its discoverer, the German chemist Bernhard Tollens. A positive test with Tollens' reagent is indicated by the precipitation of elemental silver, often producing a characteristic "silver mirror" on the inner surface of the reaction vessel.

The sodium fusion test, or Lassaigne's test, is used in elemental analysis for the qualitative determination of the presence of foreign elements, namely halogens, nitrogen, and sulfur, in an organic compound. It was developed by J. L. Lassaigne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calcium nitrate</span> Chemical compound

Calcium nitrate, also called Norgessalpeter or Norwegian salpeter, is an inorganic compound with the formula Ca(NO3)2(H2O)x. The anhydrous compound, which is rarely encountered, absorbs moisture from the air to give the tetrahydrate. Both anhydrous and hydrated forms are colourless salts. Calcium nitrate is mainly used as a component in fertilizers, but it has other applications. Nitrocalcite is the name for a mineral which is a hydrated calcium nitrate that forms as an efflorescence where manure contacts concrete or limestone in a dry environment as in stables or caverns. A variety of double salts are known including calcium ammonium nitrate decahydrate (NH4NO3·5Ca(NO3)2·10H2O) and calcium potassium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2·4KNO3).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnesium nitrate</span> Chemical compound

Magnesium nitrate refers to inorganic compounds with the formula Mg(NO3)2(H2O)x, where x = 6, 2, and 0. All are white solids. The anhydrous material is hygroscopic, quickly forming the hexahydrate upon standing in air. All of the salts are very soluble in both water and ethanol.

Sodium oxide is a chemical compound with the formula Na2O. It is used in ceramics and glasses. It is a white solid but the compound is rarely encountered. Instead "sodium oxide" is used to describe components of various materials such as glasses and fertilizers which contain oxides that include sodium and other elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium periodate</span> Chemical compound

Sodium periodate is an inorganic salt, composed of a sodium cation and the periodate anion. It may also be regarded as the sodium salt of periodic acid. Like many periodates, it can exist in two different forms: sodium metaperiodate (formula‍ NaIO4) and sodium orthoperiodate (normally Na2H3IO6, but sometimes the fully reacted salt Na5IO6). Both salts are useful oxidising agents.

Denitrifying bacteria are a diverse group of bacteria that encompass many different phyla. This group of bacteria, together with denitrifying fungi and archaea, is capable of performing denitrification as part of the nitrogen cycle. Denitrification is performed by a variety of denitrifying bacteria that are widely distributed in soils and sediments and that use oxidized nitrogen compounds such as nitrate and nitrite in the absence of oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor. They metabolize nitrogenous compounds using various enzymes, including nitrate reductase (NAR), nitrite reductase (NIR), nitric oxide reductase (NOR) and nitrous oxide reductase (NOS), turning nitrogen oxides back to nitrogen gas or nitrous oxide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium hexanitritocobaltate(III)</span> Chemical compound

Sodium hexanitritocobaltate(III) is inorganic compound with the formula Na3[Co(NO2)6]. The anion of this yellow-coloured salt consists of the transition metal nitrite complex [Co(NO2)6]3−. It was a reagent for the qualitative test for potassium and ammonium ions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curing salt</span> Salt used in food preservation

Curing salt is used in meat processing to generate a pinkish shade and to extend shelf life. It is both a color agent and a means to facilitate food preservation as it prevents or slows spoilage by bacteria or fungus. Curing salts are generally a mixture of sodium chloride and sodium nitrite, and are used for pickling meats as part of the process to make sausage or cured meat such as ham, bacon, pastrami, corned beef, etc. Though it has been suggested that the reason for using nitrite-containing curing salt is to prevent botulism, a 2018 study by the British Meat Producers Association determined that legally permitted levels of nitrite have no effect on the growth of the Clostridium botulinum bacteria that causes botulism, in line with the UK's Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food opinion that nitrites are not required to prevent C. botulinum growth and extend shelf life..

Orthonitrate is a tetrahedral oxyanion of nitrogen with the formula NO3−
4. It was first identified in 1977 and is currently known in only two compounds, sodium orthonitrate (Na3NO4) and potassium orthonitrate (K3NO4). The corresponding oxoacid, orthonitric acid (H3NO4), is hypothetical and has never been observed. Sodium and potassium orthonitrate can be prepared by fusion of the nitrate and metal oxide under high temperatures and ideally high pressures (several GPa).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver nitrite</span> Chemical compound

Silver nitrite is an inorganic compound with the formula AgNO2.

References

  1. ↑ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi: 10.1180/mgm.2021.43 . S2CID   235729616.
  2. ↑ Nitratine page on mindat.org
  3. ↑ Nitratine page on webmineral.com
  4. ↑ Nesse, W, introduction to Optical Mineralogy, Fourth Edition (Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press) 2013. appendix II, B.3
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Laue, Wolfgang; Thiemann, Michael; Scheibler, Erich; Wiegand, Karl Wilhelm (2000-06-15), "Nitrates and Nitrites", in Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA (ed.), Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, pp. a17_265, doi:10.1002/14356007.a17_265, ISBN   978-3-527-30673-2 , retrieved 2023-02-17
  6. 1 2 "LBNL BES Geosciences – Pressure Dissolution Seams". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  7. ↑ Enciclopedia de Mexico, 2005, ISBN   978-1-56409-074-4, p.1542
  8. ↑ St. John, Ronald Bruce; Schofield, Clive (1994). The Bolivia–Chile–Peru Dispute in the Atacama Desert. University of Durham, International Boundaries Research Unit. pp. 12–13. ISBN   1897643144.
  9. ↑ The Omnivores Dilemma – Michael Pollan
  10. ↑ "Sodium Nitrate (NaNO3) – Structure, Preparation, Properties & Uses of Sodium Nitrate". BYJUS. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
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