Understanding Sodium Nitrite, its Uses and Associated Hazards

Have you ever been to a meat shop, if you did, you must have seen meat laced with white colour stuff looks like crushed ice that is called Sodium Nitrite? The chemical formula of this fixative and preservative is NaNO2 and is a yellowish colour crystalline power, soluble in water.


Definition of the sodium nitrite-

“Sodium nitrite is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaNO2. It is a white to slight yellowish crystalline powder that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. It is a useful precursor to a variety of organic compounds, such as pharmaceuticals, dyes, and pesticides, but it is probably best known as a food additive to prevent botulism.” (Source: wikipedia.org)


Here, most of the people also confuse sodium with salt, but in real, they are different. To be clearer, when we talk about salt, it is actually sodium, but on other side, sodium is not a salt.


Any Difference between sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite -

Both the chemicals share the inheritance as they both comes from the same family. The humankind is using these chemicals from ages but nitrites are excessively easier to work with as compared to nitrates. The other difference between these two chemicals is their uses that are discussed below.


What are the uses of Sodium Nitrite?

Unlikely, sodium nitrate, which is used to make explosives, glass and fertilizers, sodium nitrite is used for meat preservation. If you ever tried Ham, you must have seen the pink coloration and sometime distinctive taste, this is what caused by this particular chemical. Besides meat preservation, this chemical is also used in followings:-

• dyes manufacturing
• paint pigments
• dye and printing inks
• photography
• corrosion inhibitor
• laboratory reagent
• metal coating
• rubber manufacturing chemicals

Hazards involved in its uses are -

In United States of America, this particular chemical is produced within prescribed limits, which are as low as they can be. The medical researches done for this particular topic have evidences that imbalance intake of sodium nitrite can adversely affect the haemoglobin by reducing blood ability to carry oxygen. There are evidences that excessive use of this chemical can even lead to cancer as well.

Ruff-n-Tuff Flooring with Epoxy Resins

No doubt, concrete is strong and impeccable, but the porous characteristic of concrete flooring when subjected to continuous friction and frequent usage damages its surface, water seeps inside through the surface that affects the strength of the concrete foundation. The repairing and maintenance of concrete floor is an expensive process. Whereas, floors that include epoxy resins offer paramount alternatives to obtain seamless, sturdy and beautiful floors.


In earlier times, concrete flooring was quite common and was most commonly found in factories or industrial spaces. With the passage of time, things have undergone a sea of changes therefore, now the epoxy resins have emerged with variety of products and techniques for excellent flooring options, for both industrial and residential areas as well. Whether it is a home, shopping centre, factory or an industrial establishment, epoxy resin flooring has replaced other options because of its multiple advantages and versatility.


Why designers prefer Epoxy Flooring?

Epoxy based resins come in wide variety; it replicates the beauty of a simple natural stone to contemporary and vibrant colourings of artistic floors. Interior designers and architects vastly prefer epoxy products for creating wide variety of marvellous designer flooring. As far as the matter of textures and colors are concerned, we all know that sky is the limit, which allows those flooring experts have a free hand to play with floors and ground.


Without wrecking client’s budget, designers can give an ultimate look to the floor with the help of epoxy finishes. They create floors that resemble the marble & stone finishes and diminish the problems like floor cracks, break lines, uneven levels and excessive prices.


Floor covering, like stone tiling, often looks attractive but they are not durable in the end. Like they gives incredible look but could not be installed in older homes. However, with the protective epoxy resins, you can attain durability along with creative layout and incredible look. Not only it is easy to maintain and clean, but it also gives your home environment a revived fresh new appearance.


Due to ample number of benefits, like its long lasting ability, perfect finishing, excellent adhesive property, protective constituents and high durability, epoxy resins are widely used in industries that manufacture toys, jewellery, crafts and photo frames.


It’s surprising to know that these versatile resins are much closer to our lives than ever before. To know more about epoxy resins, their usefulness as well as to order it online, visit the website www.royceintl.com

What all you wanted to know about Basic Dyes is Right Here!

Dyes have been used since the prehistoric times as colorants that have found their uses in various applications for coloring different materials. Fabricated dyes are also termed as synthetic dyes that have been developed ever since their discovery. Synthetic dyes are of different types and may be classified in to basic, acid dyes, direct dyes, mordant dyes, vat dyes, reactive dyes, disperse dyes and sulphur dyes. One of the commonest dyes used in the dyeing of acrylic fibers and paper is a basic dye. Basic dyes have a variety of uses as they are known for their vibrancy and strong coloring abilities.


The section below gives some useful insight about basic dyes -

• These dyes are generally cationic or basic in nature and they generally react with substances (substrates) that are anionic or negatively charged in nature. They exhibit an affinity for acidic substances and that results in the formation of salts. This helps in producing bright shades on the various commercial textiles and fabrics.
• Materials such as cotton are considered as inappropriate substrates for a basic dye as these do not have the required planar structures to absorb the dyes. Most of these dyes are chlorides by chemical combination and have a positively charged coloring agent or chromophore.
• Most of these dyes have vibrant colors with a varied range of brightness. They may also exhibit fluorescent properties and may occur in different colors.
• In the presence of glacial acetic acids, these dyes exhibit high amounts of solubility in water. However, with their low strike rate, they generally exhibit poor leveling properties.
• A basic dye generally exhibits a high amount of affinity towards wool, silk and acrylic material. Materials that contain cellulose may show no affinity towards basic dye. In cases where cellulose is to be dyed, a mordating agent is used for the process.
• Basic dyes are also economical in comparison to other dyes.
• These dyes are known to produce some of the best synthetic dyes used for commercial purposes. These may also be used for finishing on wood by dissolving the basic dye in water and alcohol to produce beautiful multiple tones on the wood.
• The slight limitations of these dyes however may include preferential dyeing and high acid content of the dye that may result in poor shade stability.

Epoxy Resin: A Versatile Product used in Global Industrial Applications

Epoxy resin is a product that is manufactured by transforming liquidpolyether into infusible solids with the help of appropriate curing procedures. Resins are generally produced by the chemical reactions of epichlorohydrin, bisphenol-A and some other chemical reactants. The availability and trading of epoxy resins resulted into higher economical turnoversall across the world.


These resins are famous for their excellent chemical properties, which include mechanical properties, electrical insulating properties, adhesive properties, chemical and electrical resistance properties. They can come in the form of solids, liquids, diluents, multifunctional and special resins, cycloaliphatic and Bisphenol types.


Epoxy resin has found an important place of a vital constituent in multiple applications and usefulness. It is widely preferred as coatings due to its resistance properties against alkali and metals. This made its way to be used like paints and coatings in industrial, food supply and automobile industry. Resistant to heat, electrical insulation and color retention are some of the major qualities of epoxy resins.


Epoxy based resins are also known as engineering adhesives and are commonly used in marine, sports and automobile industry. A perfect bonding adhesive for glass, stone, metal, wood and even plastics, this resin has better heat and chemical resistance. Other areas of its application and utility includes tools and equipment production, in the electronic industry for motors, switchgears, bushings, insulators and transformers and in construction engineering as construction adhesives, preservatives for the floors, in concrete floors, for roads, airport runways and high-pressure moldings


Epoxy resins are utilized for several hundred purposes including domestic as well as professional uses. These resins are widely adapted and utilized in the industries of specializing in optoelectronics, fiber optics, dentistry and many other industrial application areas.When it comes to domestic utilities, these versatile resins are predominantly used in the manufacturing of leather products, glassware and wooden objects. Such types of high utility resins are also consumed by the jewelers to give shape to the handcrafted ornaments such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc.


Epoxy resin is a product that has multitude of uses and are widely used in several different industries worldwide. Easily available, these resins are highly durable as well as affordable that also helps in the economic growth of a business, a manufacturer and even a nation. For its easier availability, some of the best renowned companies have their online presence, where one can get useful information and expert’s advice on epoxy resins and at the same time gives ease of ordering it online.

Getting Familiar With VAT Dye

One of the most important inventions in the fields of textile dyes that were made in the 20th Century was vat dye. These chemically complex, water insoluble dyes need to be first reduced to the leuco form by dissolving them in an alkaline solution of sodium hydrosulfite, before they can be used for coloring various materials. The production process of these dyes is quite complex, mainly due to their complex chemical structures. That is why even though these indigo based, dyes form one of the most ancient class of dyes, they now are largely produced synthetically to meet industry requirements.


Vat dyes have a unique working mechanism and are suitable for coloring a wide range of materials including, cotton, wool and other fabrics. However, the application of VAT dye is much more complex as compared to direct dyes or reactive dyes. The process is a combination of several smaller processes including oxidation, reduction, pH control etc. It is also important to be aware of the right quantities of caustic soda and sodium hydrosulfite required for the proper reduction of the dyestuff.


These dyes are generally sold in the form of pigments. It is necessary for the buyers to be aware of the dissolution and other coloring related properties of these dyes, as these characteristics can be easily affected by the particle size of the dye. The dyeing properties might also be affected by the different chemical structures of the dyes, which also play an important role in determining the stability of the dye towards excessive reduction and excessive oxidation, its substantivity as well as its rate of diffusion into and out of the target material.


It is possible to get vast shades of bright colors with the help of dyes. These dyes are also washfast and lightfast and it is rare to find these properties in any other class of dyes. The one drawback that these dyes suffer from is slightly poor rubbing fastness, which can be controlled by applying special treatment to the target material. However, Vat dye is not considered suitable for use for home dyers as they are slightly difficult to work with. Irrespective of that, these dyes are preferred for dyeing specific types of industrial yarns, terry cloth, industrial work clothing and shirting fabrics. Moreover, they are the only dyes that do not exhibit any serious changes in shade when exposed to topical, cellulose reactive and flame retardant finishes.