Sodium is a metal that was isolated in 1807 by the man made famous for inventing the miners' safety lamp, Sir Humphrey Davy. The Latin name for sodium is "natrium," which is where it gets its chemical symbol, "Na." Sodium reacts readily in oxygen to produce sodium oxide, revealed as a white crust surrounding its normally shiny surface. To keep sodium in its pristine state, it needs to be stored in oil in air-tight conditions.
Chemistry
Sodium cannot exist in its pure state in nature, so is always combined with another substance as a compound. To obtain its pure form scientists use a technique called electrolysis to separate the sodium from its compound substance, although there are very few applications for pure sodium, according to Chemguide. Since sodium is highly soluble it dissolves readily in water as sodium chloride. In chemistry lingo, any metal/non-metal combination is referred to as a salt and, the product of any reaction between an acid and a base is referred to as a salt. The chemical formula for sodium silicate is NA2SiO3.
Reactive with Water
Sodium silicate is often called "water glass," widely used in industry for manufacturing detergents, soaps and adhesives, as well as for bleaching or sizing textiles and in the treatment of water, according to PQ Corporation. Sodium silicate is stable when added to solutions that are either neutral or alkaline. It is soluble in water, the result being an alkaline solution.
The reason for the nomenclature of "water" or "liquid" glass is due to all its compounds being colorless and glassy in water, even when soluble. Silica acid is formed when the silicate ion in the sodium silicate reacts with the hydrogen ions in water as the sodium silicate dissolves. When heated the sodium silicate becomes a hard, glass-like material called silica gel.
Industrial Uses
Sodium silicate has a number of industrial uses, many of them quite diverse. It is used to repair leaks from the cylinder head gasket in the motor industry, and used in the food industry for preserving eggs, keeping them fresh for up to nine months. It is used as a wood preservative to protect wood from insect damage and, due to flame-retardant properties, is used to reduce wood's flammability.
Sodium silicate is used in the building industry to treat concrete and plaster, preventing them becoming porous, more water repellent. It is also added to cement, being especially effective in cement that regularly comes into contact with fire or heat.
Building Industry
Sodium silicate is used in the building industry to treat concrete and plaster, preventing them becoming porous, more water repellent. It is also added to cement, being especially effective in cement that regularly comes into contact with fire or heat, according to CQ Concepts. The kind of sodium silicate used to apply to weather-proof a structure in building is called silicate mineral paint.
Heat, Moisture and Fire
Its application as water glass enables it to be particularly useful in waste water treatment plants to bind molecules, enabling them to be dredged from the water. It is also used in the building trade, combined to other substances such as Perlite to make aggregates. These can be used to make lightweight insulation boards that are able to withstand more intense heat, as well as being used to make passive fire protection products and insulation products such as lagging used to wrap around pipes.
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