Potassium Chloride Muriate of Potash (MOP) · Sylvite · CAS 7447-40-7

What is Potassium Chloride?

Potassium Chloride, formula KCl, is a simple ionic salt of potassium and chlorine, sold as colourless to white crystals, granules or a fine powder depending on grade. It is odourless, has a salty taste, and is freely soluble in water (around 347 g/l at 20 °C).

Its dominant commercial role is as a fertilizer: sold as muriate of potash (MOP), it supplies the potassium that crop growth depends on, and accounts for the large majority of the world's potash fertilizer use thanks to its high potassium content, roughly 60% K₂O equivalent, or about 52% elemental potassium by mass.

Beyond agriculture, the same salt — refined to the appropriate purity — is used as a food-grade sodium-reduction ingredient and salt substitute, as a pharmaceutical raw material for electrolyte and injection preparations, and as an industrial reagent in brine systems, laboratory buffers and oilfield completion fluids.

Unlike many specialty intermediates on this site, Potassium Chloride is non-flammable and is not classified or regulated as a dangerous good for transport under ADR, IMDG or IATA rules, which simplifies logistics considerably — though normal good-housekeeping storage practice still applies.

Why Potassium Chloride specifically

• The world's leading potash fertilizer. Muriate of potash is the dominant source of agricultural potassium because of its high K₂O content and well-understood agronomy.
• One salt, many grades. The same KCl chemistry is refined to fertilizer, industrial, food and pharmaceutical grades, each with its own purity and impurity profile.
• Non-hazardous logistics. Non-flammable and not transport-regulated as a dangerous good, which keeps freight and documentation simple relative to most fine chemicals.
• Broad, stable demand. Agriculture, food, pharma and industrial buyers all draw on the same underlying commodity, giving a liquid, well-supplied global market.

How Potassium Chloride is Produced

Potassium Chloride is overwhelmingly a mined and refined mineral product rather than a synthesised chemical, so supply tracks potash mining and refining capacity rather than a feedstock-driven chemical process.

• Ore extraction. Sylvite and sylvinite ore, or potassium-rich brines, are extracted by conventional underground mining or by solution mining, depending on the deposit.
• Beneficiation. The raw ore, a mixture of potassium chloride and sodium chloride, is separated — commonly by flotation, electrostatic separation or fractional crystallisation — to concentrate the KCl.
• Purification. The concentrate is washed, recrystallised and dried to the target purity, with finer or coarser grinding depending on whether a standard, granular or soluble grade is wanted.
• Grading and finishing. Material is screened and classified into particle-size grades, or further refined for food and pharmaceutical specifications.
• Quality release. KCl/K₂O assay, moisture, insolubles and trace-element content are confirmed against specification before the batch is released.

Typical Commercial Specification

Figures below are representative of commercial-grade Potassium Chloride. Tell us the grade — fertilizer, industrial, food or pharmaceutical — and we will advise on the specification to order against.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Behaviour in the process

Potassium Chloride's physical behaviour is what buyers across these industries are relying on:

• High, predictable solubility. Dissolves readily and completely in water, the basis of its use in brine systems, injection solutions and liquid fertilizer blends.
• Hygroscopic tendency. Will absorb atmospheric moisture over time, particularly fine or granular material, so dry storage affects flow and caking behaviour.
• Thermal stability. Stable at ordinary processing and storage temperatures; does not decompose or react dangerously under normal conditions.
• Chemically inert salt. Does not undergo the reactive chemistry that specialty organics do, which is part of why it is classed as non-dangerous for transport.

Potassium Chloride Grades Compared

"Potassium chloride" covers several commercial grades, and the right one depends entirely on the end use — a fertilizer buyer and a pharmaceutical buyer are not shopping for the same material.

Stated plainly: the chemistry is the same simple salt throughout — what changes between grades is purity, trace-impurity control and particle form, so specifying the end use correctly at enquiry stage is what gets you the right material.

Industries We Supply Potassium Chloride To

The same potassium salt feeds a fertilizer blender, a food manufacturer and an oilfield services company. What changes is the grade specified and the documentation each requires.

Where Potassium Chloride is Used

Potassium Chloride is bought across a wide span of end uses. These are the applications our customers use it for most often.

In agriculture

Applied as muriate of potash, KCl supplies the potassium that supports root development, water regulation and overall plant vigour, and is typically blended with nitrogen and phosphate sources into compound NPK fertilizers.

In food, pharma and industrial use

Refined to higher purity and lower trace-metal limits, the same salt becomes a food-grade sodium-reduction ingredient, a pharmaceutical electrolyte raw material, and an industrial reagent across brine, buffer and drilling-fluid applications.

Quality Control & Testing

Every lot is released against a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis, with the test panel matched to the grade — a fertilizer lot and a pharmaceutical lot are not tested against the same limits.

• KCl / K₂O-equivalent content — the primary assay figure, by titration or the grade-appropriate method.
• Moisture — monitored because it affects caking, flow and shelf stability, particularly for granular fertilizer grade.
• Water insolubles — reported because residual clay or ore material affects both appearance and downstream dissolution.
• Heavy metals & trace elements — tightened progressively for food and pharmaceutical grades, tested against the relevant pharmacopoeial or food-safety limit.

Common Process Problems & Likely Causes

When this product causes trouble, it is usually moisture pick-up, particle-size mismatch or an impurity outside a tight food/pharma limit. This table is the shortcut our technical desk works through before anyone opens a complaint file.

Packaging, Storage & Shipping

• Standard packing. Multi-wall paper or woven PP bags, typically 25 – 50 kg net, with 500 kg–1 MT jumbo bags and bulk vessel loading available for fertilizer-grade volumes.
• Moisture exclusion. Keep sealed and dry; the salt is hygroscopic and will cake if exposed to humid conditions over time.
• Temperature control. Store at ambient temperature; no special thermal precautions are needed given its high melting point.
• Material compatibility. Non-reactive with common packaging materials; no special incompatibility precautions under normal storage.
• Shelf life. Effectively indefinite in sealed, dry storage; quality is governed by moisture exposure rather than ageing.
• Transport classification. Not classified as a dangerous good under ADR, IMDG, IATA or DOT rules — standard general-cargo documentation applies.

Hazards & Safe Handling

Potassium Chloride has a mild hazard profile — it is non-flammable and not classified as a dangerous good for transport. Standard good industrial hygiene applies, as it does for any bulk inorganic salt.

• Dust handling. Nuisance dust from bulk handling of powder or fine granules; use standard dust-control measures and ventilation.
• Skin and eye contact. Not generally irritating, but standard practice is gloves and safety glasses during bulk handling; rinse with water if dust contacts the eyes.
• Ingestion. Low acute toxicity as a food and pharmaceutical raw material at normal handling levels; large ingested quantities should still receive medical attention.
• PPE. Dust mask and safety glasses as a baseline for bulk bag handling and mechanical conveying.
• Environment. Avoid large uncontrolled discharges to waterways, as elevated salinity can affect local aquatic ecosystems; follow local effluent rules for bulk spills.

Regulatory & Compliance Notes

Potassium Chloride is a widely regulated commodity across fertilizer, food and pharmaceutical frameworks precisely because it is used in all three. Because obligations differ by territory, grade and use, the notes below are orientation rather than legal advice — confirm your own position with your regulatory adviser.

• Fertilizer regulation. Fertilizer-grade material is typically registered under each destination country's fertilizer control regime; confirm registration status for your market before import.
• Food-additive status. Food-grade KCl is an approved sodium-reduction ingredient in most major markets (e.g. EU E508), subject to purity criteria for food use.
• Pharmacopoeial grades. Pharmaceutical-grade material is supplied to meet USP, Ph. Eur. or equivalent monographs where specified.
• Transport. Not classified as a dangerous good under ADR, IMDG, IATA or DOT; standard commercial shipping documentation applies.
• HS code. Fertilizer-grade material is commonly declared under the potash-fertilizer heading, while reagent or industrial-grade material is classified separately; confirm the exact tariff line with your customs broker for your grade and jurisdiction.

We Supply Potassium Chloride Worldwide

Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and export partner, not a single-plant trader. We ship Potassium Chloride from established potash-producing sources to customers across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America, handling the export documentation and freight so the material arrives ready to use.

• Incoterms. EXW, FOB, CIF, CFR and DAP quoted to suit your purchasing terms and freight arrangements.
• Ports. Regular shipments through Nhava Sheva (JNPT), Mundra and Kandla, with bulk vessel loading arranged for fertilizer-grade volumes.
• Documentation. Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, COA and SDS issued as a complete set.
• Flexible volumes. From bag-quantity trial orders up to bulk vessel shipments on a supply contract.
• Supply continuity. Because we are independent of any one producer, a sourcing or shipping disruption at one origin does not have to become your stock-out.

Buying Potassium Chloride from Chelora

We are an independent sourcing and supply partner. For this product that means settling three things at enquiry: the grade your application needs (fertilizer, industrial, food or pharmaceutical), the packing format, and the quantity you are buying.

• Documentation on every lot. Batch-specific COA with assay, moisture and the trace-element panel matched to your grade, plus the current SDS.
• Analysis before commitment. Representative analysis shared ahead of a commercial order so your lab can qualify the material.
• Quantities. Bag-quantity trial orders through to bulk vessel shipments on contract supply.
• Inspection. Independent third-party inspection available at loading when the contract requires it.
• Related inorganic salts. Potassium sulphate, ammonium sulphate and other fertilizer salts alongside this product from one supplier.

How ordering works

• Send the enquiry. Grade, quantity, destination port and the Incoterm you buy on. If you have a spec sheet, attach it — it saves a round trip.
• We quote. Price, lead time, packing format and a sample COA, normally within one working day.
• Qualify the supply. For first orders, or food/pharma-grade applications, we share the analysis so your technical team can sign off before you commit.
• Confirm the order. Proforma invoice issued; payment terms agreed against the volume and the relationship.
• Allocation and QC. Material allocated and released against a batch-specific COA, with an independent inspection where the contract calls for it.
• Ship and document. Packed, labelled and loaded with the full export document set, and tracked through to arrival.

Related Fertilizer & Inorganic Salts

Buyers of Potassium Chloride often source other fertilizer and inorganic salts alongside it. Consolidating them cuts freight cost and gives you a single point of contact for documentation.