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Re: KNO3

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Re: KNO3
From: Paul Sears <psears at nrn1_NRCan.gc.ca>
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 16:10:47 -0400 (EDT)
In-Reply-To: <199806011948.PAA09962 at acme_actwin.com> from "Aquatic Plants Digest" at Jun 1, 98 03:48:01 pm

> From: "Schenck, Lyndle" <lschenck at dcscorp_com>
> Subject: KNO3 Source 
> 
> I did a flame test on Green Light Stump remover several years ago and
> got a bright yellow flame which is an indication that it is sodium (not
> potassium) nitrate.

	You don't need a lot of sodium contamination of a sample to
give a good yellow colour.  It wouldn't surprise me at all if low-grade
potassium nitrate gave a yellow flame.
> 
> My local garden supply store has several products listed as "nitrate of
> potash, sulphate of potash, etc" and lists analysis as percentage of
> "K2O".  Does anyone have any experience using these suppliments?  Can we
> assume that sulphate of potash is potassium sulphate or are these types
> of supplements too impure for our use?

	Sulphate of potash is just an archaic name for potassium sulphate.
The grade should be just fine for our use.  Ditto nitrate of potash for
potassium nitrate.  The K2O bit is because there was originally a tendency
to look at K2SO4 as "K2O"  plus "SO3", i.e., the combined oxides.  The
terminology has unfortunately stuck as far as fertilizers are
concerned.  They even stretch it to include KCl, which contains _no_
oxygen at all!


-- 
Paul Sears        Ottawa, Canada

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