Introduction

Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) is a chemical compound of manganese, potassium and oxygen. The salt is also known as "permanganate of potash" and "Condy's crystals". In this salt, manganese is in the +7 oxidation state. The permanganate ion is a strong oxidizing agent. It dissolves in water to give deep purple solution, evaporation of which gives prismatic purple-black glistening crystals. It has a sweet taste and is odourless.

In 1659, German chemist J.R. Glauber, fused a mixture of the mineral pyrolusite and potassium carbonate to obtain a material that, when dissolved in water, gave a green solution potassium manganate (K2MnO4) which slowly changed colour to violet to form potassium permanganate and then finally red. This report has gone down in history as the first description of the production of potassium permanganate.

Around two hundred years later, London chemist Henry Bollmann Condy had an interest in disinfectants, and marketed several products including ozonised water. He found that fusing pyrolusite with Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) and dissolved it in water produced a solution with disinfectant properties. He patented this solution, and marketed it as Condy's Fluid. Although effective, the solution was not very stable. This was overcome by using Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) rather than NaOH. This was more stable, and had the advantage of easy conversion to the equally effective Potassium Permanganate crystals.

This crystalline material was known as Condy’s crystals or Condy’s powder. Potassium Permanganate was comparatively easy to manufacture, so Condy was subsequently forced to spend considerable time in litigation in order to stop competitors from marketing products similar to Condy's Fluid or Condy's Crystals. However, Potassium Permanganate was born and the production started worldwide.

Grades of Potassium Permangante

• Pure Grade Crystals (99 % min.)
• Pure Grade Powder (99% min.)
• Free Flowing Grade (FFG-97% min.)
• Technical Grade (98% min.)

Grades are defined by the physical characteristics and purity of Potassium Permanganate. Different grades have different applications.

Physical and Chemical Properties

Uses & Applications

• Water treatment for disinfection, odour control and maintaining B.O.D. levels
  
  
• Pickling agent in steel industry for descaling and degreasing
  
  
• Fumigation of Poultry farms, hatcheries and hospitals
  
  
• Air purification for odour control and increased oxygen levels
  
  
• Non-ferrous, metal and metal salts industry for removal of ferrous impurities
  
  
• Oxidizing and removal of ferrous impurities from inorganic chemicals
  
  
• Pharmaceutical intermediate manufacture
  
  
• Organic intermediates and chemicals manufacture
  
  
• Repacking industry for various institutional, medicinal and household uses
  
  
• Disease control and disinfection in aquaculture and mushroom culture
  
  
• Pre-treatment of wood and wooden furniture
  
  
• Glass industry for coloring and removal of impurities
  
  
• Welding electrode industry for manufacture of fluxes
  
  
• Textile processing for bleaching and stain removal
  
  
• Soil remediation
  
  
• Forward integration to Sodium Permanganate
  
  
• Aquaculture / fish culture
  
  
• Sodium Saccharine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_permanganate

Introduction

Boron is a chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a trivalent metalloid element which occurs abundantly in the evaporite ores borax and ulexite. Boron is never found as a free element on Earth.

Several allotropes of boron exist; amorphous boron is a brown powder, though crystalline boron is black, extremely hard (9.3 on Mohs' scale), and a weak conductor at room temperature (22-28 °C, 72-82 °F). Elemental boron is used as a dopant in the semiconductor industry, while boron compounds play important roles as light structural materials, nontoxic insecticides and preservatives, and reagents for chemical synthesis.

Boron is an essential plant nutrient, although higher soil concentrations of boron may also be toxic to plants. As an ultratrace element, boron is necessary for the optimal health of rats and presumably other mammals, though its physiological role in animals is poorly understood.

Uses

Boron and boron compounds have numerous uses in many fields, although elemental boron is employed chiefly in the metal industry. Its extreme reactivity at high temperatures, particularly with oxygen and nitrogen, makes it a suitable metallurgical degasifying agent. It is used to refine the grain of aluminum castings and to facilitate the heat treatment of malleable iron.

Miscellaneous uses

It has been reported to enhance mental activity, memory, and hand-eye coordination. Some body builders and athletes take boron supplements as a muscle-enhancing agent despite the fact that there is no evidence to support this use. Overall, boron appears to have the most potential as a possible bonebuilder and brain booster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boron

Introduction

Micronutrients are nutrients needed for life in small quantities. The Microminerals or trace elements include at least iron, cobalt, chromium, copper, iodine, manganese, selenium, zinc and molybdenum. They are dietary minerals needed by the human body in very small quantities (generally less than 100mg/day) as opposed to macrominerals which are required in larger quantities. Note that the use of the term "mineral" here is distinct from the usage in the geological sciences.

Vitamins are organic chemicals that a given living organism requires in trace quantities for good health, but which the organism cannot synthesize, and therefore must obtain from its diet.

Uses

There are about eight nutrients essential to plant growth and health that are only needed in very small quantities. These are manganese, boron, copper, iron, chlorine, cobalt, molybdenum, and zinc. Though these are present in only small quantities, they are all necessary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronutrient