Potassium Chloride
Potassium Chloride is a white crystalline mineral salt with the formula KCl, supplying potassium in a highly bioavailable ionic form and contributing a salty taste profile that overlaps with sodium chloride.
The compound (CAS 7447-40-7, molar mass 74.55 g/mol) is freely soluble in water, neutral in pH, and forms cubic crystals isomorphous with halite. It is the single largest commercial source of potassium for food, pharmaceutical, and agricultural use.
We source bulk Potassium Chloride from top China manufacturers for our partners, working with several of them. The manufacturers are in Jiangsu. For this ingredient the minimum order is 500 kg and a 20-foot container takes 25 MT, and a smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Minimum order
- 500 kg
- Qty in 20' FCL
- 25 MT
- Packaging
- 25 kg kraft paper bag with PE inner liner
- ISO 9001
- HACCP
- Halal
- Kosher
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | White crystalline powder or colourless crystals |
| Identification (potassium and chloride) | Positive |
| Assay (dried basis) | 99.0 - 100.5% |
| Loss on Drying (105 °C, 2 h) | ≤ 1.0% |
| pH (5% w/v solution, 25 °C) | 5.5 - 8.5 |
| Sodium (as Na) | ≤ 0.1% |
| Bromide | ≤ 0.1% |
| Iodide | Conforms |
| Sulfate (as SO4) | ≤ 300 mg/kg |
| Calcium and Magnesium (as Ca) | ≤ 200 mg/kg |
| Water-Insoluble Matter | ≤ 0.05% |
| Iron (as Fe) | ≤ 20 mg/kg |
| Heavy Metals (as Pb) | ≤ 10 mg/kg |
| Lead | ≤ 2 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | ≤ 0.5 mg/kg |
Common Markets Grades
Potassium Chloride is graded by purity tier and crystal habit.
Fertilizer grade (muriate of potash, MOP) runs 60 to 62 percent K2O equivalent and comes as standard, granular, or compacted crystals for direct soil application or NPK blending.
Food grade meets FCC and E508 specifications at minimum 99 percent assay, with crystal sizes ranging from fine powder for shaker salt blends to coarse for pretzel topping. A free-flowing version with anti-caking agent is produced for industrial salt-replacement blends.
USP and Ph. Eur. grades hit 99.0 to 100.5 percent assay with tight limits on heavy metals, bromide, and iodide. These grades feed oral electrolyte tablets, IV concentrates, and dialysis solutions.
Reagent and ACS grades at 99.5 percent plus are sold to laboratories. Optical-grade single crystals serve infrared spectroscopy windows.
Applications
- Low-sodium and reduced-sodium table salt blends, typically at 25 to 50 percent KCl substitution
- Salt-replacement systems in bread, processed meat, soup bases, snack seasonings, and cheese
- Sports and electrolyte beverages for potassium fortification alongside sodium and magnesium salts
- Sodium-free meat curing systems and brines for poultry and fish
- IV fluids, oral rehydration salts, and parenteral nutrition concentrates
- Cardioplegia solutions used to arrest the heart during cardiac surgery
- Dialysis concentrates for hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis
- Potash fertilizer for chloride-tolerant field crops including corn, soybean, and small grains
- Drilling fluids for oil and gas wells to stabilise clay-bearing shale formations
- Regeneration salt for water softeners marketed as sodium-free
- Glass and ceramic fluxes, and feedstock for downstream potassium chemistry (KOH, KClO3)
Brands Using Potassium Chloride
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Potassium Chloride on the ingredient label.
- Morton SaltMorton Lite Salt Mixture ↗Morton Lite Salt panel: 'Salt, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Silicate, Magnesium Carbonate, Dextrose, Potassium Iodide.' Provides 50% less sodium by partial KCl substitution.Label verified 2026-05-24
- Cumberland PackingNu-Salt Sodium-Free Salt Substitute ↗Nu-Salt FAQ confirms ingredients: 'potassium chloride, cream of tartar, drier and natural flavor derived from yeast.' Sodium-free table-salt alternative based on KCl.Label verified 2026-05-24
- AlsoSaltAlsoSalt Original Sodium-Free Salt Substitute ↗AlsoSalt original panel: 'Potassium Chloride, L-Lysine Mono-Hydrochloride.' Butter and garlic variants also list potassium chloride as the primary ingredient.Label verified 2026-05-24
- McCormickNoSalt Original Sodium-Free Salt Alternative ↗A sodium-free table salt alternative listing 'Potassium Chloride, Potassium Bitartrate, Adipic Acid, Silicon Dioxide, Mineral Oil and Fumaric Acid'.Label verified 2026-05-24
- Upsher-Smith LaboratoriesKlor-Con M20 Potassium Chloride Extended-Release Tablets ↗Klor-Con M20 extended-release tablet contains 1,500 mg of microencapsulated potassium chloride USP (equivalent to 20 mEq potassium); prescription treatment for hypokalemia.Label verified 2026-05-24
- CargillDiamond Crystal Potassium Chloride Salt Alternative (Water Softener) ↗Diamond Crystal Potassium Chloride for water softeners is up to 99.1% pure potassium chloride; NSF listed sodium-free replacement for traditional softener salt.Label verified 2026-05-24
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Potassium Chloride
Top Potassium Chloride manufacturers in China.
- Jiangsu Dingguan Food Technology Co., Ltd.10 ingredients in the directory
Jiangsu Kolod Food Ingredients Co., Ltd.9 ingredients in the directory- Jiangsu Zhenghe Ift Corp.7 ingredients in the directory
Jiangsu Zidong Food Co., Ltd.10 ingredients in the directory- Lianyungang Dikang Food Additive Factory5 ingredients in the directory
- Lianyungang Kede Food Ingredients Co., Ltd.5 ingredients in the directory
- Lianyungang Shuren Kechuang Food Additive Co., Ltd.4 ingredients in the directory
Lianyungang Tongyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd.11 ingredients in the directory
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
How We Help Source Potassium Chloride
Direct Factory Sourcing
We run the whole process: selecting the manufacturer from the top Chinese food ingredient producers, negotiating the price, verifying quality, and coordinating the logistics. You deal with us instead of with several factories at once.
Original Packaging and Documents from the Manufacturer
The manufacturer sends your Potassium Chloride out of its own factory in the original packing, through to your destination port. The COA, COO, MSDS, TDS and any certifications reach you from the manufacturer as well.
Free Samples and Lead Time
We send 100 to 500 g free for your own laboratory to test and you cover only the courier, usually within 2 to 3 working days. ETD is usually within 7 to 15 days once the order is confirmed, and we check that date against the factory's own manufacturing schedule before we give it to you.
Combined Shipment
We can load Potassium Chloride together with other ingredients such as Sodium Acetate, Calcium Citrate and Sodium Lactate into one 20' FCL. If your quantity is small, we can also ship LCL.
Regulatory Status
Potassium Chloride holds broad food, pharmaceutical, and agricultural clearances worldwide.
In the European Union it is authorised as food additive E508 with no numerical use limit (quantum satis) when serving as a salt substitute, flavour enhancer, or gelling agent. It also qualifies as a mineral source for food supplements under Directive 2002/46/EC.
In the United States the substance is affirmed GRAS under 21 CFR 184.1622 for use as a nutrient and dietary supplement, flavour enhancer, and stabiliser. USP monographs cover pharmaceutical use in oral solid, oral solution, and concentrated injection forms.
Pharmacopoeial monographs exist in the USP, Ph. Eur., JP, and Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The injectable form carries a boxed precaution in most jurisdictions because rapid undiluted IV administration can cause fatal cardiac arrest.
Halal and Kosher certifications are routine. The fertilizer form is the reference standard for the K nutrient in NPK fertilizer regulations across most major agricultural markets.
Manufacturing Process
Almost all commercial potassium chloride begins with potash ore mined from ancient marine evaporite beds.
The main producing basins are Saskatchewan (Canada), the Urals and Solikamsk region (Russia and Belarus), the Zechstein deposit (Germany), the Dead Sea (Israel and Jordan), and the Qarhan playa (China). Saskatchewan alone holds roughly half of proven world reserves.
Two extraction routes dominate. Conventional underground mining removes sylvinite ore (a mechanical mixture of KCl and NaCl), which is then beneficiated at the surface by froth flotation or heavy-media separation to reject the sodium chloride fraction.
Solution mining injects hot water or weak brine into the ore body, dissolves the salts, and pumps the saturated brine to surface ponds for fractional crystallisation on cooling. The Dead Sea operation uses solar evaporation of natural brine to precipitate carnallite, which is then decomposed to KCl.
Food, USP, and reagent grades are produced by recrystallising fertilizer-grade material from purified brine, followed by drying, sizing, and (for medical grades) gamma or steam sterilisation of the final pack.
