Sodium Formate
It is a crystalline powder of white or slightly yellowish color. The main indicator is the mass fraction of the main substance: 95–99% (depending on the grade).
It is used as a buffering agent, setting accelerator, anti-corrosion additive, and reducing agent.
It has high solubility in water and low hygroscopicity, which ensures stability during storage.
Sodium formate is used for treating drilling fluids, anti-icing treatment of airfields, as well as in the leather and textile industries.
In the oil extraction, oilfield, and gas industries, sodium formate is used for preparing kill fluids and perforating fluids, as a reagent for stimulating formation fluid inflow, and as a component of biopolymer drilling fluids. The substance has high dissolving power, compatibility with potassium and cesium salts, and the ability to reduce corrosion of casing pipes and surface equipment. The use of sodium formate minimizes damage to productive formations (due to low ion activity) and simplifies the disposal of spent fluids due to its high biodegradability.
Sodium Formate is an effective, environmentally friendly anti-icing reagent widely used for treating runways, taxiways, aprons, and road bridges. Its main advantages are low corrosive activity (5–10 times lower than that of chlorides) and the ability to work at temperatures as low as -30°C.
Other Applications
Sodium formate is used:
In the leather industry — for tanning and chrome tanning as a masking agent;
In construction — as a setting accelerator for cement mixtures and an antifreeze additive in concrete (at temperatures down to -15°C);
In the chemical industry — as a reducing agent in synthesis, a component of buffer solutions, and a preservative for liquid feed;
In the textile industry — for dyeing and printing fabrics (a reducing agent for vat dyes);
In wastewater treatment — for removing heavy metals and neutralizing acids.
Sodium formate (sodium salt of formic acid, E237) is a multipurpose chemical product with low toxicity and high biodegradability, which plays an important role in environmentally sensitive industries and provides a safe alternative to traditional chloride-based reagents.
