Production
The industrial process of producing this substance relies on the conversion of liquid ammonia and the presence of sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide. Liquid ammonia is oxidized at high temperature in a catalytic bed in the presence of air and produces nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2). Nitrogen oxides enter an absorption tower and react with sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide solution to form sodium nitrite solution. If sodium hydroxide is used, the solution is concentrated and pure and can be supplied to customers for specific uses.
If sodium carbonate is used, the solution is very dilute and its water must be removed in several steps to increase the concentration of this product. Finally, in both cases, the solution must go through other steps to obtain dry powder. This product is available both dry (granules or flakes) and solution.
Appearance
Yellowish white crystals and powder
The pH of this substance is in the range of 7-9. This product is completely soluble in water and immediately decomposes into sodium and nitrite ions.
In case of contact with air, it is easily oxidized to nitrate by oxygen. This compound is considered a strong reducer.
Antimicrobial properties?
The above combination in the presence of acids leads to the production of nitrated acids. This substance is available in two types, edible and industrial. The edible type is used as a preservative for meat products such as sausages, hot dogs, ham, etc. Also, this product is added to many of these meat products to improve their color.
This substance also prevents the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms in food. Nitrite alone, but nitrate has an antimicrobial effect when it is reduced to nitrite. The antimicrobial effect of nitrite depends on the pH of the product, so that with a decrease of one pH unit, the undissolved part of nitrous acid (HNO2), which is an antimicrobial agent, increases 10 times, and for this reason, adding a small amount of edible acids to the product The following actions are recommended in order to reduce the pH level. This material with industrial grade is used in many cases, which can be mentioned for its anti-corrosion properties.