Potassium

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Applications

• Potassium oxide is primarily used in fertilizer.
• Potassium hydroxide is an important industrial chemical used as a strong base.
• Potassium nitrate is used in gunpowder.
• Potassium carbonate, known as potash, is used in glass manufacture.
• Glass treated with liquid potassium is much stronger than regular glass.
• NaK, an alloy of sodium and potassium, is used as a heat-transfer medium.
• Potassium is an essential component needed in plant growth and is found in most soil types.
• In animal cells potassium ions are vital to keeping cells alive (see Na-K pump)
• Potassium chloride is used as a substitute for table salt and is also used to stop the heart, e.g. in cardiac surgery and in executions by lethal injection.
• The superoxide KO₂ is used as a portable source of oxygen and as a carbon dioxide absorber. It is useful in portable respiration systems.

Many potassium salts are very important, and include: potassium bromide, potassium carbonate, potassium chlorate, potassium chloride, potassium chromate, potassium cyanide, potassium dichromate, potassium iodide, potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate.

Related Topics:
Potassium bromide - Potassium carbonate - Potassium chlorate - Potassium chloride - Potassium chromate - Potassium cyanide - Potassium dichromate - Potassium iodide - Potassium nitrate - Potassium sulfate

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