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Major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks. It is one of the major constituents of gunpowder (black powder) and has been used since the Middle Ages as a food preservative.
KNO3 is a chemical compound with chemical name Potassium Nitrate.
Potassium nitrate also called saltpeter or niter, a white solid soluble in water formed by fractional crystallization of sodium nitrate and potassium chloride solutions. It occurs naturally as niter in rocks in India, South Africa and Brazil. When heated it decomposes to give the nitrite and oxygen. Unlike sodium nitrate it is non-deliquescent. Potassium nitrate is used in gunpowder, fertilizers and in the laboratory preparation of nitric acid.
Potassium nitrate is the most common desensitizing agent in over-the-counter dentifrices. At a concentration of 5%, potassium nitrate in conjunction with sodium or monofluorophosphate fluoride significantly reduces symptoms within 2 weeks of daily use. Potassium ions penetrate the length of the dentinal tubule and block repolarization of the nerve ending.
Frequent and regular application of a potassium nitrate dentifrice is necessary to avoid recurrence of symptoms, maintain a high abundance of extracellular potassium ions, and maintain the inter dental nerves in a hyperpolarized state. Potassium nitrate, often called saltpeter, occurs as an efflorescence in caverns and on soils in arid regions.