Sodium Formate (99,5%) - China

Brief overview

Sodium formate, HCOONa, is the sodium salt of formic acid, HCOOH. It usually appears as a white deliquescent powder. Sodium formate is used in several fabrics dyeing and printing processes. It is also used as a buffering agent for strong mineral acids to increase their pH, as a food additive (E237), and as a de-icing agent.

Manufacturing Process

Sodium formate is industrially produced by reacting sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with carbon monoxide (CO) under controlled conditions:

𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 + 𝐶𝑂 →𝐻𝐶𝑂𝑂𝑁𝑎
NaOH+CO→HCOONa
The resulting solution is evaporated, allowing sodium formate to crystallize. The crystals are then filtered, dried, and processed to meet industrial requirements. This method ensures high purity and efficiency in production.

Intermediate Chemicals

Sodium formate chemically reduces other components by donating an electron or electrons. Formic acid and oxalic acid are prepared from sodium formate. Sodium formate is used in the manufacture of sodium hydrosulfite, a common reductive bleaching chemical.

Other Applications

Sodium formate is used to improve the brightness and color in dyeing/printing fabrics and paper. Sodium formate stabilize the chromium, resulting in better leather quality. It is used for better penetration and tanning time reducing. Sodium formate improves both desulfurization efficiency and increasing lime absorbent utilization. Sodium formate is also used in liquid detergent as a builder or an enzyme stabilizer. It is used in dyeing, in electroplating, in silage preservation.