Environmental Impact of Sodium Silicate

Sodium silicate becomes gel-like when it dries.

Liquid gas, silicate of soda, soluble glass and water glass -- these are alternate names for the compound, sodium silicate. Because this grey-white powder is soluble in water, it offers many benefits with very little impact on the environment.

Geology of Silicon

Twenty-seven percent of the earth's crust is made up of silicon.

Silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust, accounting for slightly more than one-fourth of the earth's crust by weight. Silicon is found as a silicate (silicon and oxygen, combined with one or more metals), such as granite, feldspar and mica, and as an oxide in minerals such as sand, quartz, flint and agate.

The Compound

Sodium carbonate abounds after a forest fire.

Sodium silicate is made by combining two minerals, silica (sand) and soda ash, under high temperature. Sodium silicate is the only water-soluble silica compound.

Soda Ash

Soda ash (sodium carbonate) is a mineral alkali derived from wood ashes.

Uses

Eggs can be preserved for nine months with sodium silicate.

Sodium silicate is used in fireproofing textiles, refining petroleum and manufacturing corrugated paperboard. It is also used as an egg preservative. A fresh egg is immersed in a sodium silicate solution which, when dried, keeps the bacteria that spoils eggs out and the water in an egg in.

Environment

Sodium silicate will cause an engine to seize.

Sodium silicate acts as a gelling or cementing compound, thereby having a benign impact on the environment, as it becomes a glass-like material when it hardens or dries. This became an effective method for permanently disabling the engines of the "cash for clunkers" trade-ins.

References

• Minerals
• Webelements-Silicon
• Webelements-Salt

Resources

• Greenhouse Gases
• The Nitty Gritty 0f Cash for Clunkers
• Silica in 1997