Product Overview
Sodium chloride (NaCl) — common salt — supplied as a dry, free-flowing crystalline solid at 99.5% minimum purity. This is Technical Grade material: no anti-caking agents, no iodine, no additives of any kind. It is offered in 15 lb and 50 lb bags for industrial process work, water treatment and general chemical use.
Technical grade — not for food, drug, or medicinal use.
The reason to buy salt from a chemical supplier rather than a hardware store is what is not in the bag. Retail softener and de-icing salts commonly carry anti-caking additives and residual iron; those additives are exactly what fouls ion-exchange resin and leaves deposits in process equipment. This product is plain, additive-free sodium chloride with a certificate available on request.
Why This Grade
Technical Grade means the material is manufactured and supplied for industrial process use, meeting a 99.5% minimum assay under Federal Specification A-A-694 Type II. It is the standard procurement grade for brine makeup, ion-exchange regeneration and chemical processing, where the process tolerance is well understood and a tighter analytical monograph adds cost without adding function.
If your application requires a USP, ACS or food-grade designation, this is not the correct material — those are separate products with their own specifications. Confirm your internal quality requirement before ordering.
Chemical Profile
Sodium chloride has the molecular formula NaCl (CAS 7647-14-5) and a molecular weight of 58.44 g/mol. It is a white crystalline solid at ambient conditions, odorless, with a density of 2.16 g/cm³ and a melting point of 801 °C. It is freely soluble in water — roughly 359 g/L at 20 °C — and that solubility is essentially flat with temperature, which is why saturated brine holds a predictable concentration without heating. Store dry; the material will cake if it takes on moisture.
Industrial Applications
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Water Softener Regeneration — Sodium chloride regenerates the ion-exchange resin in a water softener, displacing the calcium and magnesium the resin has captured and returning it to the sodium form. Additive-free salt matters here: anti-caking agents and iron in retail softener salt foul the resin bed and shorten its service life.
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Brine Makeup — Saturated and dilution brines for industrial cooling, chilling and process circuits. NaCl brine is inexpensive, thermally stable and predictable in concentration.
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Ion Exchange & Demineralization — Regenerant for cation exchange columns in industrial water treatment and demineralization trains.
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Chemical Processing — Feedstock and reagent across chlor-alkali chemistry, electrolysis work and salting-out separations, and a common bench and pilot-scale reagent.
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Soap & Detergent Manufacturing — Salting out soap from the spent lye during saponification, and as a viscosity modifier in surfactant systems.
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Textile Dyeing — Electrolyte for exhaust dyeing, driving reactive dye uptake onto cellulosic fibre.
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De-icing & Traction — Melting ice on walkways, docks and yard surfaces, and adding traction on packed snow.
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Oilfield & Drilling — Brine density control and clay stabilization in drilling and completion fluids.
Handling & Storage
Sodium chloride is not classified as hazardous under OSHA HCS / GHS — no signal word, no pictograms and no hazard statements apply. The applicable precautionary statements are P264 (wash hands after handling) and P501 (dispose of contents and container in accordance with all applicable regulations).
Dust can be mildly abrasive to the eyes; standard safety glasses are sensible when handling open bags or pouring. Store bags dry, off the floor and closed between uses — moisture causes caking. Concentrated brine is corrosive to carbon steel and to some aluminium alloys, so select wetted materials accordingly.
Hazmat & Shipping
Sodium chloride is not regulated for transport — no UN number, no hazard class, no packing group under 49 CFR, IMDG or IATA. It ships as ordinary freight with no hazmat surcharge, no shipping papers and no placarding.
Bags are heavy relative to their value, so shipping is a meaningful share of the delivered cost. Rates are calculated live at checkout from your ZIP. Local pickup at our Taylor, TX warehouse is available and is generally the most economical option for customers in the Austin area.
Documentation
A Safety Data Sheet is available on the product page. A Certificate of Analysis for the lot shipped is available on request — every bag we ship carries a registered lot number traceable to its certificate.
Why Buy from Alliance Chemical
Alliance Chemical has supplied industrial chemicals since 1998, shipping from our warehouse in Taylor, Texas. We are a distributor: we source, package, document and ship — and we stand behind the certificate that comes with the material. Orders placed on stocked items typically ship within one to two business days. USDOT #2188383.