March 28, 2024, 04:53:46 PM
Forum Rules: Read This Before Posting


Topic: Separation of sodium nitrite  (Read 6932 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline papa_bear

  • New Member
  • **
  • Posts: 3
  • Mole Snacks: +0/-0
Separation of sodium nitrite
« on: February 08, 2012, 07:15:36 AM »
Hi,
I don't know if this question belongs here, so feel free to move it if it doesn't.
I have some sodium nitrite which I use as a preservative for the sausages I make. It's blended with salt and sugar, so that the actual percentage of the sodium nitrite itself in the mixture is about 6 percent. Is there a way to isolate the sodium nitrite from the mixture to get the pure substance? I'm asking this because I want to control the amount of salt and sugar myself rather than have to rely on the pre-blended mixture.

Offline Arkcon

  • Retired Staff
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 7367
  • Mole Snacks: +533/-147
Re: Separation of sodium nitrite
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2012, 07:43:56 AM »
This will be very hard for a layman to do.  The components are so closely similar to each other in solubility that separation will be very difficult -- you might be able to separate small amounts of salt and sugar away from nearly pure sodium nitrite, losing much of the sodium nitrite in the process, but not the other way around. 

Look for a source for "pink salt" that's a pure(er) source for sodium nitrate for your home meat curing needs.
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

Offline papa_bear

  • New Member
  • **
  • Posts: 3
  • Mole Snacks: +0/-0
Re: Separation of sodium nitrite
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2012, 08:24:35 AM »
Thank you for the reply, Arkcon.

Offline fledarmus

  • Chemist
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1675
  • Mole Snacks: +203/-28
Re: Separation of sodium nitrite
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2012, 08:51:20 AM »
Sodium nitrite is actually easy to buy in pure, food-grade form. Even Amazon.com sells it: http://www.amazon.com/Grade-Sodium-Nitrite-Granular-Flowing/dp/B0044Q5SXU


Offline Arkcon

  • Retired Staff
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 7367
  • Mole Snacks: +533/-147
Re: Separation of sodium nitrite
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2012, 11:34:40 AM »
To be absolutely correct, you could get rid of the sugar by baking your mix at fairly high heat, the salts won't change, but the sugar will burn.  But even with burning the sugar completely, the remaining two salts would be too difficult to separate.
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

Offline papa_bear

  • New Member
  • **
  • Posts: 3
  • Mole Snacks: +0/-0
Re: Separation of sodium nitrite
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2012, 12:54:46 PM »
Sodium nitrite is actually easy to buy in pure, food-grade form. Even Amazon.com sells it: http://www.amazon.com/Grade-Sodium-Nitrite-Granular-Flowing/dp/B0044Q5SXU



Thanks, fledarmus. Unfortunately all the online suppliers I've found only ship to the U.S., including Amazon. If you know one that ships to other countries, do let me know.

Offline Wastrel

  • Regular Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 74
  • Mole Snacks: +5/-4
Re: Separation of sodium nitrite
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2012, 06:15:45 PM »
Are you sure it's 6% sodium nitrite and not 0.6%?  Only an unsourced wikipedia statement suggests there is an EU regulation about this.  This is news to me, I thought it had been banned on account of carcinogenic nitrosamine formation.  I also thought manufacturers in the UK had moved over to sodium nitrate.

Sponsored Links