Sodium metasilicate is strongly alkaline, having strong capacity of cleaning, buffering and softening, counteracting acidic contamination, emulsifying fat and oil, deflocculating to inorganic. It can replace STPP to be used for the manufacture of effective detergents and rust remover for metal, reducing environmental pollution, providing good alkaline buffering, preventing corrosion for metal (zinc, aluminum, etc.). The silicic acid radical anion in Sodium metasilicate can react with harmful ions(Ca2+, Mg2+) in mud to form insoluble substances to stimulate exchange interaction of Na+ so that the mud decrease in viscosity, increase in liquidity. Therefore, sodium metasilicate is widely used for the manufacture of a variety of detergents, used as rust remover for metal, grinding aids for ceramics, deinking agent for paper, dyeing and printing auxiliary for removing oil in textile industry, and also used as the raw material for flameproofing agent, plastic maintenance agent, water retention agent, etc.
II. Properties
White crystalline granular, easy soluble in water and diluted alkali solution, insoluble in alcohol or in acid producing an alkaline solution, very hygroscopic when reacting with CO and water from the air. It has the capabilities of removing scale, emulsifying, dispersing, wetting, penetrating, and also has the capability of buffering PH value. The strong solution is harmful to fabric and skin.