Calcium Nitrite
A Definition

Edward T. Woodruff, Inc. is an expert in designing Calcium Nitrite plants as well as manufacturing calcium nitrite.  This sheet is informative about Calcium Nitrite and hopefully useful for your interest and edification.  To learn more about our successful results and contributions please see Home and Accomplishments. 

W. R. Grace Research became involved in the development of Calcium Nitrite re-enforced concrete corrosion inhibitor.  Edward T. Woodruff provided for the process design of the first Grace calcium nitrite plant in Wilmington, NC.  This plant came on stream in 1982 and ran up to mid 1998.  We designed another plant for installation in Augusta, GA..  This plant got underway in May 1998 and is still in operation today.

In the work at Grace, Edward T. Woodruff was the lead and principle engineer.  Due to our process design and economic evaluation efforts we were the first to show management that the calcium nitrite process was feasible.  Since then we have spearheaded the way to know and apply the nitrite chemistry at the commercial  plant level.  Because of our expertise we were vitally needed to make the project a technical and economic success commercially.

After the Grace experience, Edward T. Woodruff, Inc. designed a calcium nitrite plant for Abocol in Cartagena, Columbia.  The fate of this project, done in 2005, is unknown.

As used here the term calcium nitrite covers a variety of other relevant terms. These terms are calcium nitrite process, calcium nitrite processes, calcium nitrite plant, calcium nitrite plants, calcium nitrite process design, calcium nitrite plant design, calcium nitrite market, calcium nitrite markets.

Calcium nitrite is an inorganic chemical that finds use in re-enforced concrete. Calcium nitrite acts as a corrosion inhibitor. The calcium nitrite protects steel re-enforcing bars from chloride induced corrosion. Calcium nitrite is carried to the jobsite in a Ready Mix cement truck. At the jobsite the calcium nitrite is already incorporated in the concrete batch before the batch is poured. Once poured the calcium nitrite goes to work protecting the steel re-enforcing bars.

Calcium nitrite is made by reacting hydrated lime with NOX gas. Typically the NOX gas for calcium nitrite production comes from a nitric acid plant. At the acid plant ammonia is burned to produce the NOX gas for acid as well as calcium nitrite production.

In the US calcium nitrite is made by W. R. Grace at their calcium nitrite plant in Augusta, GA. The only other calcium nitrite producers we are aware of make calcium nitrite in China. The Chinese calcium nitrite producers make their calcium nitrite for China and Asian markets. The Grace calcium nitrite plant serves the calcium nitrite needs for the US. Under unique calcium nitrite operating conditions calcium nitrite is made at high yield. By carefully controlling calcium nitrite conditions, the selectivity on converted lime, on a molar basis, is over 95%. The calcium nitrite that is not made shows up as the calcium nitrate byproduct. Calcium nitrite as made is sold as a 30% minimum aqueous solution and as dry calcium nitrite powder and calcium nitrite granule

See Accomplishments.