Potassium Chloride is a high purity, dry crystalline inorganic/metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlolrine, KCl. It has a molar mass of 74.551 g/mol and occurs naturally as the mineral slyvite. Potassium chloride is often referred to as muriate of potash (MOP), particularly when used as a fertilizer.
• Primarily used as a shale inhibitor as the potassium ion exchanges with calcium and sodium ions n the interlayer space in illites and smectites, converting them to more stable mica-type structures that do not hydrate and swell.
• Used to prepare brines for drill-in, completion, and workover fluids
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Other names |
Sylvite common name |
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Identifiers |
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CAS number |
[7447-40-7] |
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RTECS number |
TS8050000 |
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ChemSpiderID |
4707 |
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Properties |
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Molecular formula |
KCl |
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Molar mass |
74.55 g/mol |
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Appearance |
white crystalline solid |
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Density |
1.987 g/cm3 |
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Melting point |
775 °C |
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Boiling point |
ca. 1500 °C |
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Solubilityin water |
28.1 g/100 ml (0 °C) |
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Hazards |
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MSDS |
ICSC 1450 |
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EU Index |
Not listed |
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Flash point |
Non-flammable |
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LD50 |
2600 mg/kg (oral/rat), 142 mg/kg (intravenous/rat) |
Advantage :
• Widely used in the industry
• Largely benign salt; solutions are neutral pH
• Does not significantly impair performance of polymers such as viscosifiers and filtration controllers