Sodium silicate, usually known as “water glass” or “liquid glass”, is well-known due to wide commercial and industrial application. It is mostly composed of oxygen-silicon polymer backbone lodging water in molecular matrix pores.
Uses -
- In Metal repair - Sodium silicate is used, along with magnesium silicate, in muffler repair and fitting paste. Muffler is a device for reducing the amount of noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine.
- In Automotive repair leaks - Sodium silicate can be used to seal leaks at the head gasket. A head gasket is a gasket that sits between the engine block and cylinder head in an internal combustion engine.
- Car engine disablement - Sodium silicate solution is used to inexpensively, quickly, and permanently disable automobile engines.
- As Adhesive - Sodium silicate was used to seal combustible nitrated paper together to form a conical paper cartridge to hold the black powder, as well as to cement the lead ball or conical bullet into the open end of the paper cartridge.
- Aquaculture - Aquaculture Sodium silicate gel is also used as a substrate algal growth in aquaculture hatcheries.
- Refractory use - Water glass is a useful binder of solids, such as vermiculite, the natural mineral that expands with the application of heat and perlite, volcanic glass that has a relatively high water content.
- Concrete treatment - Concrete treated with a sodium silicate solution helps to significantly reduce porosity in most products such as concrete.