He ferrous sulfate It serves mainly as a medicine to prevent or combat anemia and as anti-hemorrhagic, in agriculture as a nutrient for the soil, to purify water in treatment plants and as a base for dyes and dyes.
Ferrous sulfate is a solid and crystalline chemical compound with green, yellow or brown colorations. Its molecular formula is FeSO 4 and it changes depending on the temperature at which it gets hot and the exposure to air or the lack of it.
It is a reducing agent considered as an anhydrous reducing salt material, that is, it oxidizes itself preventing or delaying the oxidation of another material with which it interacts.
It is also called as green vitriol, iron vitriol, melanterite, iron sulfate, iron tetraoxidosulfate, green coppera and white copera.
This compound is obtained during the manufacture of the steel at the time of finishing and before its coating.
The treatment of using sulfuric acid as a stripper for steel parts, produces many quantities of ferrous sulfate that are easy to store.
The most commercial way to obtain it is by bathing the iron with sulfuric acid or oxidizing the pyrite.
The 6 main uses of ferrous sulphate
1.- In medicine and nutrition
Iron is a necessary element for every living organism. Enzymes and proteins that contain iron are essential in many biological functions of oxidation and transport.
Many foods based on proteins they contain the iron necessary for the body to function properly.
Also certain foods prepared at the industrial level are enriched and fortified with iron in the form of ferrous sulfate to add more properties.
But in some cases people can suffer from iron deficiencies because the body is not receiving them or can not assimilate efficiently with the food eaten.
The fastest, most economical and effective medical way to correct an iron shortage in the body is the oral administration of iron salts. This is where ferrous sulfate serves as a supplement in treatments of blood deficiencies.
There are nutritional supplements on the market with ferrous sulfate among its ingredients and also medicinal drugs in the form of tablets or drops. It mainly serves to treat anemia.
It is recommended to take this medicine one hour before eating or two hours after taking food, as the body absorbs it better on an empty stomach.
In different forms, it is also used as an antihemorrhagic or anticoagulant, especially during a surgical operation.
2.- In agriculture and horticulture
Ferrous sulfate helps reduce the pH of both the organic matter in the crop compost and the soil itself. Both uses favor agricultural production providing large amounts of nutrients.
Plants also need iron to function properly. When there are deficiencies of this nutrient, its coloration is yellowish.
Agriculture has found a more economical solution by directly mixing the ferrous sulfate into the organic components.
This use also improves the temperature regulation of the soil, helps in the absorption and retention of water and reduces the erosion process.
Likewise, in soils with a high limestone content, ferrous sulfate is perfect to protect it from degradation.
In horticulture, it is a component in gardens and lawns for the removal of moss. In some cases, ferrous sulfate is included in fertilizers or pesticides that are sold commercially.
Another way in which it is used to combat moss is in grass sand, which is easier to apply.
3.- Sewage treatment plants
Ferrous sulfate is a coagulant of very easy dissolution for the application in the treatment of black waters.
This is able to form complex compounds with phosphorus that react very well in the process of water purification in the purification plants.
The product also works in odor control applications because it prevents the formation of hydrogen sulphates in dirty water and the eutrophication of gases on the surface.
4.- In dyes or dyes
The famous ink used to write with pen from the Middle Ages and until the end of the seventeenth century (West), was made with iron sulfate. Ferrogálica ink is made with the salts of ferrous sulfate and acids of the sap or glucose of trees like oak.
You can still get this type of ink to write, but its use is more traditional and classic. Its properties act both as a color concentrator given by another substance and as the basis of the color of the product itself.
It is also used in the textile industry as dye or mordant of other dyes, since its properties make it an excellent color fixer in fabrics.
In marquetry works, the maple wood or maple used is dyed with ferrous sulfate to give it a silver tone. This wood is known as harewood.
The rustic color of this chemical compound also makes it suitable to give a metallic yellow color to limestone, concrete, concrete and sandstone, used in the construction industry.
5.- Mycology
In the study and identification of fungi in mycology, ferrous sulfate is used both in crystals and dissolved in water. The internal flesh or weft of certain mushrooms change color when they come into contact with iron salts.
Noteworthy are the bill-like fungi and especially the rusulas, which stain green or red when reacted with solid ferrous sulphate or mixed in water in 10% solution.
On the ballots, drop a drop of the solution into the hood, root meat or pores to induce the coloring reaction.
6.- Industrial use in pipes
Ferrous sulfate is also used in the cooling water of condenser turbines, to protect the coating of brass pipes creating a corrosion resistant coating.
References
- Iron (II) Sulfate. Compound Summary - Open Chemestry Database. National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine Retrieved from pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Web MD. Ferrous Sulfate Tablet, Delayed Release. Drugs & Medications Retrieved from webmd.com
- Iron sulphate. Recovered from ecured.cu
- James L Harper (2016). Iron Deficiency Anemia Medication. Medscape Retrieved from emedicine.medscape.com
- Agriculturers (2016). How to use and what is the use of iron sulphate agriculture. Retrieved from agriculturers.com
- What is Ferrous Sulphate? Retrieved from lawnsmith.co.uk
- Robin Dean (1999). Guide to Chemicals for Fungal Microscopy. North West Fungus Group Newsletter. Recovered from fungus.org.uk
- Michael Kuo (2016). Testing Chemical Reactions. Retrieved from mushroomexpert.com
- net. (2017). Difference Between Iron and Ferrous Sulfate. Retrieved from differencebetween.net
- Kemira industries. Ferrous Sulfate. Retrieved from kemira.com