Fertilizer The majority of the<unk>  produced is used for making fertilizer, called potash, since the growth of many plants is limited by<unk>  availability.<unk>  sold as fertilizer is known as muriate of potash (MOP). The vast majority of potash fertilizer worldwide is sold as MOP.<unk> , compacted, fertilizer grade. Medical use<unk>  is vital in the human body, and<unk>  by mouth is the common means to treat low blood<unk> , although it can also be given intravenously. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Overdose causes hyperkalemia which can disrupt cell signaling to the extent that the heart will stop, reversibly in the case of some open heart surgeries. Culinary use It can be used as a salt substitute for food, but due to its weak, bitter, unsalty flavor, it is often mixed with ordinary table salt (sodium<unk>  to improve the taste to form low sodium salt. The addition of 1 ppm of thaumatin considerably reduces this bitterness. Complaints of bitterness or a chemical or metallic taste are also reported with<unk>  used in food. Industrial As a chemical feedstock, it is used for the manufacture of<unk>  hydroxide and<unk>  metal. It is also used in medicine, lethal injections, scientific applications, food processing, soaps, and as a sodium-free substitute for table salt for people concerned about the health effects of sodium. It is used as a supplement in animal feed to boost the<unk>  level in the feed. As an added benefit, it is known to increase milk production. It is sometimes used in solution as a completion fluid in petroleum and natural gas operations, as well as being an alternative to sodium<unk>  in household water softener units. Glass manufacturers use granular potash as a flux, lowering the temperature at which a mixture melts. Because potash imparts excellent clarity to glass, it is commonly used in eyeglasses, glassware, televisions, and computer monitors.<unk>  is useful as a beta radiation source for calibration of radiation monitoring equipment, because natural<unk>  contains 0.0118% of the isotope 40K. One kilogram of<unk>  yields 16350 becquerels of radiation, consisting of 89.28% beta and 10.72% gamma, with 1.46083 MeV. In order to use off-the-shelf materials, it needs to be crystallized sequentially, using controlled temperature, in order to extract<unk> , which is the subject of ongoing research. It also emits a relatively low level of 511 keV gamma rays from positron annihilation, which can be used to calibrate medical scanners.<unk>  is used in some de-icing products designed to be safer for pets and plants, though these are inferior in melting quality to calcium<unk>  lowest usable temperature v. . It is also used in various brands of bottled water.<unk>  was once used as a fire extinguishing agent, and in portable and wheeled fire extinguishers. Known as Super-K dry chemical, it was more effective than sodium bicarbonate-based dry chemicals and was compatible with protein foam. This agent fell out of favor with the introduction of<unk>  bicarbonate (Purple-K) dry chemical in the late 1960s, which was much less corrosive, as well as more effective. It is rated for B and C fires. Along with sodium<unk>  and lithium<unk> ,<unk>  is used as a flux for the gas welding of aluminium.<unk>  is also an optical crystal with a wide transmission range from 210 nm to 20 µm. While cheap,<unk>  crystals are hygroscopic. This limits its application to protected environments or short-term uses such as prototyping. Exposed to free air,<unk>  optics will "rot". Whereas<unk>  components were formerly used for infrared optics, it has been entirely replaced by much tougher crystals such as zinc selenide.<unk>  is used as a scotophor with designation P10 in dark-trace CRTs, e.g. in the Skiatron.
Potassium chloride
Calcium chloride
Sodium bicarbonate
Potassium canrenoate
Ringer's lactate solution
Calcium gluconate
Potassium bromide
Mannitol