Sodium Hexametaphosphate(SHMP)

1. Water Treatment Industry

• Scale Inhibitors: Effectively prevent the formation of scale such as calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate in boilers, cooling towers, and heat exchangers by chelating with scale-forming ions (e.g., Ca²⁺).

• Corrosion Inhibitors: In metal pipes and equipment, remove corrosion-promoting metal ions through chelation, thus inhibiting corrosion.

• Water Softeners: Used in industrial laundry, printing and dyeing, etc., to soften water and improve washing performance.

2. Food Industry (as a food additive, INS number 452i)

• Moisture Retention Agents: Widely used in meat products (e.g., ham, sausage, fish balls), poultry products, and seafood to improve water retention, resulting in a smoother texture and reduced weight loss during processing.

• Quality Improvers: Used in dairy products, soy sauce, beverages, etc., to prevent protein coagulation and precipitation, stabilizing the system.

• Chlorinating Agents: Used in canned goods and fruit juices to chelate metal ions, preventing discoloration, off-flavors, and oxidative spoilage, extending shelf life.

• pH adjusters and leavening agents: Used in baked goods and powdered beverages.

3. Detergents and cleaning products

• Building agents: Once an important component of synthetic detergents (such as laundry powder), they enhance the cleaning effect of surfactants and prevent dirt redeposition by chelating hardness ions in water. Due to environmental reasons (eutrophication), their use in household detergents has been greatly reduced and replaced by zeolites, but they are still widely used in industrial cleaning.

4. Mining and mineral processing

• Dispersants and inhibitors: Used as inhibitors for silicate minerals (such as quartz and feldspar) in mineral flotation processes, and also as dispersants for slurries to improve separation efficiency.

5. Ceramic industry

• Water-reducing agents: Adding a small amount of SHMP to ceramic blanks and glazes can significantly reduce the water content of the slurry while maintaining good fluidity, facilitating spray drying and molding, and saving energy.

6. Textile Printing and Dyeing

• Water softeners and dispersants: Soften water during bleaching, dyeing, and printing processes, prevent the precipitation of dyes and insoluble substances, and ensure uniform color.

7. Other Applications

• Petroleum Industry: Used as a dispersant in drilling mud.

• Coatings Industry: Used as a pigment dispersant.

• Paper Industry: Used for pulp bleaching and as an auxiliary agent.