A Focus on Potassium Silicate

What are silicates and how are they produced?
In inorganic chemistry, soluble silicates are considered to be among the most versatile and widely consumed materials due to their chemical-physical characteristics.
Silicates are naturally friendly to the environment. If heated they emit only water vapor and if dispersed in the ground or in the water they rapidly depolymerize dispersing in the form of silicic compounds indistinguishable from those present in nature.
The potassium silicate in aqueous solution is obtained through a process of fusion and subsequent dissolution in water.

Process for Fusion
The vitreous potassium silicate is produced by the chemical reaction of melting pure silica sand (SiO2) and potassium carbonate (K2CO3), inside special ovens at temperatures above 1200°C; during the process anhydrous silicate in the molten state and carbon dioxide in the gaseous state are formed, according to the reaction:

K2CO3 + SiO2 → K2O x SiO2 + CO2

The anhydrous silicate is then rapidly cooled and reduced to pieces. Due to its characteristic appearance it is called water-soluble glass.
Subsequently the same is dissolved in water. The operation takes place inside special autoclaves, under pressure and at high temperatures.
Once the desired concentration has been reached, the silicate solution is purified by decantation and filtration and subjected to the relative laboratory controls.

By its nature, potassium silicate has a strongly alkaline pH which is around values ​​of 10-11.
Normally it is mainly used alone but can be used in mixture with other products, even at acid pH, after its acidification.
Agridaeus has developed an acidification protocol for its SILIK EVO product based on Potassium Silicate in order to use the product in a mix with acid products.