Calcium formate is an organic substance with the molecular formula of c2h2o4ca. It is white crystal or powder, slightly hygroscopic and slightly bitter. Neutral, non-toxic, soluble in water. The aqueous solution is neutral. The solubility of calcium formate changes little with the increase of temperature, 16g/100g water at 0 ℃ and 18.4g/100g water at 100 ℃. Specific gravity: 2.023 (20 ℃), bulk density 900-1000g / L. Heating decomposition temperature >400 ℃. As a feed additive, it is suitable for all kinds of animals and has the effects of acidification, mildew prevention, antibacterial, etc. in industry, it is also used as a concrete, mortar additive, leather tanning or as a preservative.
The main method of producing calcium formate is to use dilute formic acid to react with calcium carbonate or calcium hydroxide to produce calcium formate solution, which is filtered to remove insoluble substances. The filtrate is concentrated, crystallized, centrifuged and dried to produce calcium formate products, and the mother liquor is recycled.
Reaction principle: because the acidity of formic acid is stronger than that of carbonic acid, formic acid can react directly with calcium carbonate to form calcium formate. Its reaction formula is:
The product quality is excellent, and the content of water insoluble matter in the product is low; The existing shortcomings are the use of evaporative crystallization production process, which is complex, high energy consumption, high production cost and low efficiency. In this regard, we have developed a quicksand calcium formate production technology, which directly uses formic acid and calcium carbonate as the main raw materials to synthesize an ideal quicksand calcium formate product in one step. The advantages of this technology are short process flow, simple operation, low energy consumption, small investment and low production cost. The product is white and well flowing uniform quicksand crystalline particles with high purity and quality.
Main uses of calcium formate:
1. Used in construction. It is used as fast setting agent, lubricant and early strength agent of cement. It is used in construction mortar and all kinds of concrete to speed up the hardening speed of cement and shorten the setting time. Especially in winter construction, it can avoid too slow setting speed under low temperature. Demoulding is fast, so that the cement can be put into use as soon as possible. Application of calcium formate: all kinds of dry mixed mortar, all kinds of concrete, wear-resistant materials, flooring industry, feed industry, tanning industry. The dosage of calcium formate and precautions: the dosage of dry powder mortar and concrete per ton is about 0.5~1.0%, and the maximum addition is 2.5%. The dosage of calcium formate increases gradually with the decrease of temperature. Even if 0.3-0.5% is applied in summer, it will have an obvious early strength effect.
2. As a new feed additive. Feeding calcium formate to gain weight and using calcium formate as feed additive for piglets can promote piglets' appetite and reduce diarrhea rate. Adding 1% ~ 1.5% calcium formate to the piglet diet can significantly improve the performance of weaned piglets. German research found that adding 1.3% calcium formate to the diet of weaned piglets can improve the feed conversion rate by 7% - 8%, and adding 0.9% can reduce the incidence of diarrhea in piglets. Zheng Jianhua (1994) added 1.5% calcium formate to the diet of 28 day old weaned piglets. After feeding for 25 days, the daily gain of piglets increased by 7.3%, the feed conversion rate increased by 2.53%, the protein and energy utilization rates increased by 10.3% and 9.8% respectively, and the diarrhea of piglets decreased significantly. Wu Tianxing (2002) added 1% calcium formate to the diet of ternary hybrid weaned piglets, the daily gain increased by 3%, the feed conversion rate increased by 9%, and the diarrhea rate of piglets decreased by 45.7%. Other things to note: the use of calcium formate is effective before and after weaning, because the hydrochloric acid secreted by piglets increases with age; Calcium formate contains 30% calcium that is easy to absorb. When preparing feed, pay attention to adjusting the proportion of calcium and phosphorus.
The raw material of calcium formate is indirectly related to our food safety! As for the identification of calcium formate, we all know that calcium formate is white crystal or powder in appearance, but it is also yellow in the market, because the production raw materials used are not regular raw materials, that is, commonly known as by-products. There are many impurities in this kind of raw materials, and there are no requirements for heavy metals. With the development of animal husbandry and high attention to environmental protection, the production method using formic acid as the main product has less impurities and stable quality. The quality of calcium formate synthesized with calcium carbonate has reached a higher level. Another key component of calcium formate used in feed is calcium content, which is generally ≥ 30%. Traditional animal calcium supplement is to use stone powder. Although it can also play a role in calcium supplement, long-term use of stone powder will affect the digestion and absorption of nutrients by livestock and poultry, and even form inflammation, resulting in a large amount of stomach acid in the intestine will be neutralized, indirectly causing diarrhea in piglets, and serious stones. As a new type of animal feed additive, feed grade calcium formate is different from the calcium source used in previous feeds. It does not need the participation of gastric acid in the process of dissolution in animals, and the absorption rate is better than that in the past. It can be used in young animals with incomplete gastrointestinal function, and generally can realize the replacement of calcium formate and stone powder. When using calcium formate, other factors will be taken into account for different uses. Feed grade calcium formate will take into account the content of heavy metals, water solubility and other issues. In order to play a good role in animal body, feed calcium formate should be considered from the key point of raw material production.