The substance whose chemical formula is CH3COONa is the sodium salt of acetic acid or sodium acetate. It is also registered in the international register of food additives under the article E-262.
The substance is a crystal, the shades of colors of which can range from pale yellow to saturated brown. In domestic use, the name sodium acetate is also used. The substance sodium acetate is non-combustible; according to the safety classification, it is assigned to the fourth class. Sodium acetic acid is explosion-proof and low-toxic, this largely explains its widespread use in industrial production and everyday life.
It is obtained as a result of the reaction of NaOH or Na2CO3 with acetic acid or esters of this acid. A substance is produced, usually in solid form. In industrial production, the mass fraction of salt in the anhydrous state is established in the norm at least 50%. The practical use of a substance requires compliance with certain conditions, for example, compliance with temperature limits (ambient temperature should not exceed 5 degrees).
In chemical production, it is often necessary to neutralize aggressive substances and compounds. One such substance is sulfuric acid. To neutralize it, sodium acetate is used, concentrated sulfuric acid is neutralized with the formation of the oxosalt Na2SO4, a substance that precipitates during the neutralization reaction as a white precipitate. These reactions prevent the risk of poisoning and burns in cases of leakage of sulfuric acid.
As already noted, this substance is widely used in various fields. In the textile industry, its use is based precisely on the ability to neutralize spent sulfuric acid residues in the emissions of enterprises, as well as in the production of various dyes of the aniline group (used as a photoresist - a photosensitive coating). In the manufacture of synthetic rubber, the use of sodium acetate is based on its ability to slow down the course of vulcanization.
In the food industry, sodium acetate is used as a preservative.
Technical sodium acetate is widely used as an anti-frost additive to various types of concrete, which are used in the construction of monolithic concrete structures and other construction operations related to sealing and strengthening structures at low temperatures. This application is due to the ability of the substance to prevent freezing of concrete mixtures in almost all cycles of construction technologies - transportation, conservation of buildings, masonry and others. In particular, sodium acetate promotes the setting of mixtures at low temperatures, without lowering their quality and without complicating the process of their preparation. Its use significantly weakens the corrosion process in concrete products and contributes to an increase in the strength of concrete.
It is common to use sodium acetic acid in pharmacy as a component for the manufacture of diuretics, as well as for alkalizing the body with hyponatremia and metabolic acidosis.
You can get this substance at home. How to make sodium acetate at home? This is not difficult. Take 1 kg of ordinary soda and 1 liter of vinegar essence. Then mix them very slowly in a glass dish, this process until then, until the hissing stops. A monolithic sodium acetic acid crystalline hydrate will appear at the bottom of the vessel. Then it must be heated until completely melted and the precipitate removed by filtration. The pure melt obtained should be cooled in a glass container to room temperature. You have obtained the substance in liquid form, it is very simple to give it a solid form - you need to add a literally small crystalline of the same sodium acetate to this liquid. Thus, it is possible to carry out multiple re-preservation of the substance, depending on what its state of aggregation is necessary.