Potash
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[[Image:PotashUSGOV.jpg|thumb|Potash]]
'''Potash''' (or ''carbonate of potash'') is an impure form of potassium carbonate ([[potassium|K]]<sub>2</sub>[[carbonate|CO<sub>3</sub>]]).
Potash has been used since
[[Ancient history|antiquity]] in the manufacture of [[glass]] and [[soap]] and as a [[fertilizer]]. The name comes from the [[English language|English]] words ''[[Cooking pan|pot]]'' and ''[[ash]]'', referring to its [[discovery (observation)|discovery]] in the [[water (molecule)|water]]-[[soluble]] [[fractionation|fraction]] of wood ash.
The term has become somewhat ambiguous due to the [[substitution]] in fertilizers of cheaper [[potassium]] [[salt]]s, such as [[potassium chloride]] ([[potassium|K]][[chlorine|Cl]]) or [[potassium oxide]] ([[potassium|K]]<sub>2</sub>[[oxygen|O]])<ref name="notfound">
In actuality, fertilizer never contains potassium oxide, per se, because it is both a caustic and a highly reactive chemical. It is so reactive that is must be stored under kerosene, like metallic potassium. However, it was decided to standardize the reporting of potassium in terms of the oxide. The potassium oxide itself is even barely available in the commercial world, difficult to obtain even as a reagent, though.
</ref>, to which the same common name is now sometimes also applied. In addition, [[potassium hydroxide]] ([[potassium|K]][[hydroxide|OH]]) is commonly called ''caustic potash'', an additional source of confusion.
The element [[potassium]] derives its English name from potash. A number of chemical compounds containing potassium use the word ''potash'' in their traditional names:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Common name !! Chemical name !! Formula
|-
|Potash fertilizer ||[[potassium oxide]] ||K<sub>2</sub>O
|-
|Caustic potash or potash lye ||[[potassium hydroxide]]||KOH
|-
|Carbonate of potash, salts of tartar, or pearlash ||[[potassium carbonate]]||K<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>
|-
|Chlorate of potash ||[[potassium chlorate]] ||KClO<sub>3</sub>
|-
|Muriate of potash ||[[potassium chloride]] ||KCl
|-
|Nitrate of potash or saltpeter||[[potassium nitrate]] ||KNO<sub>3</sub>
|-
|Sulfate of potash ||[[potassium sulfate]] ||K<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>
|-
|Permanganate of potash ||[[potassium permanganate]] ||KMnO<sub>4</sub>
|}
==Potash production and trade==
===History===
Since the 14th century, potash was widely produced by [[Ethiopia]]. It was their number one export up until the 20th century; however after the Ethiopian War against Kenya it became irrelevant. Potash was one of the most important industrial chemicals in [[Canada]]. It was refined from the ashes of broadleaved trees and produced primarily in the forested areas of Europe, [[Russia]], and [[North America]]. The first [[United States patent law|U.S. patent]] was issued in 1790 to [[Samuel Hopkins (inventor)|Samuel Hopkins]] for an improvement "in the making Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process."<ref name="USPTO Kids' Pages">[http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/kids/kidevents_press.html#x1 Kids - Time Machine - Historic Press Releases - USPTO<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Potash production provided late-18th and early-19th century settlers in North America a way to obtain badly needed cash and credit as they cleared their wooded land for crops. To make full use of their land, excess wood, including stumps, needed to be disposed. The easiest way to accomplish this was to burn any wood not needed for fuel or construction. Ashes from [[hardwood]] trees could then be used to make [[Potassium hydroxide|lye]], which could either be used to make soap or boiled down to produce valuable potash. Hardwood could generate ashes at the rate of 60 to 100 [[bushel]]s per acre (500 to 900 m³/km²). In 1790, ashes could be sold for $3.25 to $6.25 per acre ($800 to $1500/km²) in rural [[New York|New York State]] – nearly the same rate as hiring a laborer to clear the same area.
===Potash as baking aid===
Potash along with [[ammonium bicarbonate|hartshorn]] is also used as a baking aid similar to baking soda in old German Christmas bakery receipes such as Lebkuchen (ginger bread).
===Potash in the modern era===
[[Image:Potash output2.PNG|thumb|right|Potash output in 2005]]
In 2005, [[Canada]] was the largest producer of potash with almost one-fourth of the world share followed by [[Russia]] and [[Belarus]] in [[Soligorsk]], reports the [[British Geological Survey]]. The most significant reserve of Canada's potash is located in the province of [[Saskatchewan]] and controlled by the [[Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan]].<ref>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC826552 Canadian Potash Reserves - The Canadian Encyclopedia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name=GlobeAndMail20080614>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080613.wpotash0613/BNStory/energy/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail
| title=Potash: The new gold rush
| publisher=[[Globe and Mail]]
| author=[[Cameron French]]
| date=[[June 14]], [[2008]]
| accessdate=2008-06-01
| quote=
}}
</ref>
It should be noted that unlike other producers, [[Israel]]'s [[Dead Sea Works]] and [[Jordan]]'s [[Arab Potash|Arab Potash Company]] use solar evaporation pans in the [[Dead Sea]] to produce [[carnallite]] from which [[potassium chloride]] is produced.
==External links==
* [http://www.townshipsheritage.com/Eng/Hist/Life/potash.html The Potash Trade in North America]
* [http://www.erica.demon.co.uk/EH/EH415.html Potash Production in Northern Sweden: History and Ecological Effects of a Pre-industrial Forest Exploitation]
* [http://www.paulkeeslerbooks.com/Potash.html They Burned The Woods and Sold the Ashes]
* [http://www.me.utexas.edu/~lotario/paynter/hmp/The_First_Patent.html Henry M. Paynter, ''The First Patent'', Invention & Technology, Fall 1990]
* [http://www.potashcorp.com/media/flash/world_map/ World Agriculture and Fertilizer Markets Map]
* [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&S1=1790$.PD.&OS=ISD/$/$/1790&RS=ISD/1790$$ The First U.S. Patent], issued for a method of potash production
* [http://www.commonlanguageproject.net/?page_id=101 "Digging for Potash, Mining Companies Encounter An Iron Will"] magazine article
* [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/IH01Ag01.html Russia reaps rich harvest with potash]
== References and notes ==
<references />
[[Category:Potassium minerals]]
[[Category:Carbonate minerals]]
[[Category:Agricultural chemicals]]
[[da:Potaske]]
[[de:Kaliumcarbonat]]
[[fr:Potasse]]
[[is:Pottaska]]
[[he:אשלג]]
[[nl:Potas]]
[[no:Pottaske]]
[[pl:Potaż]]
[[ru:Поташ]]
[[sr:Поташ]]
[[fi:Potaska]]
[[sv:Pottaska]]
[[zh:草木灰]]