Magnesium chloride is a water-soluble salt of the elemental metal magnesium. Available in vast amounts directly from sea water or underground brine wells, the chemical can also be extracted through mining from the remains of ancient sea beds. Magnesium chloride is used in industrial, culinary, research and medicinal applications that include the treatment of magnesium deficiency in the body, the care of marine aquariums, the anesthetizing of sea life and the manufacture of tofu.
Industrial Applications
The abundance of magnesium chloride makes it a useful raw material in the production of pure magnesium metal and for the production of light and strong magnesium alloys, which are used in, among other items, spacecraft and aircraft, automobiles, mobile phones, cameras and power tools. Magnesium chloride is being used to replace sodium chloride as a de-icing agent. It also helps to control dust and erosion and functions to hold ammonia as a source of hydrogen fuel.
Medicinal Uses
Magnesium chloride often serves a treatment for magnesium deficiency in the human body, as it is more bioavailable than other magnesium compounds. Magnesium depletion is also associated with diabetes mellitus, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Oral magnesium chloride supplements may help to improve insulin sensitivity and control blood sugar. The Institute also points to magnesium as a potential treatment for migraine headaches and asthma.
Marine Research
In marine research, concentrated magnesium chloride works as an anesthetic during research. Cephalopods, such as squid, octopus and cuttlefish, and bivalves, including clams, oysters and scallops, are all sensitive to magnesium chloride as an anesthetic.
Marine Aquariums
Due to the high level of magnesium in sea water, magnesium chloride is often added to marine aquarium water to ensure a proper balance of minerals within the enclosed environment. Corals, clams and other invertebrates that use calcium to form their shells require a specific amount of magnesium in the water. Aquarists often supplement water with magnesium chloride to ensure these animals can utilize calcium properly.
Tofu Manufacture
Magnesium chloride has a common purpose of coagulating solids and soy milk. Once separated from the liquid portion of soy milk, the solids are then pressed into blocks, in a similar manner as when cheese is made. The resulting block of soy milk solids is tofu. The magnesium chloride solution used in this process, called nigari in Japanese, is a milky white liquid made from sea water.
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