Sodium Acetate Trihydrate
Sodium Acetate Trihydrate is the hydrated crystal form of sodium acetate, with the formula CH₃COONa·3H₂O and CAS number 6131-90-4. It appears as colourless to white, transparent, prismatic crystals or as a granular crystalline powder.
The trihydrate is the dominant commercial format of sodium acetate. It is the form that crystallises naturally from aqueous solution at ambient temperature, holds three molecules of water per formula unit (about 39.7 percent of the dry mass), and is the basis for the well-known reusable hot-pack technology built around its supercooling and rapid recrystallisation.
We source bulk Sodium Acetate Trihydrate from top China manufacturers for our partners, working with several of them. The manufacturers are in Shandong and Jiangsu. For this ingredient the minimum order is 500 kg and a 20-foot container takes 23 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
- 23 MT
- Packaging
- 25 kg kraft paper bag with PE inner liner
- ISO 9001
- HACCP
- Halal
- Kosher
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | White crystalline powder |
| Purity (Food Grade) | 99.0% min |
| Purity (Industrial Grade) | 98.0% min |
| Moisture/Loss on Drying | ≤ 10.0% |
| pH | 6.0 - 8.0 |
| Ash | ≤ 0.5% |
| Heavy Metals | ≤ 10 ppm |
| Lead | ≤ 2 ppm |
| Arsenic | ≤ 1 ppm |
| Total Plate Count | ≤ 1000 cfu/g |
| Yeast & Mold | ≤ 100 cfu/g |
Common Markets Grades
The market sells the trihydrate by application sector and particle morphology.
Food grade meets the Food Chemicals Codex specification and comes as fine to medium crystals for use in pickling brines, processed meat solutions, and beverage acid-control systems.
Pharmaceutical grade complies with the USP, Ph. Eur., and BP monographs for sodium acetate trihydrate, with controlled heavy-metal, chloride, and microbial limits, suitable for parenteral, dialysis, and oral solution use.
Reagent and analytical grades carry tighter purity specifications for laboratory buffer preparation.
Technical grade takes the form of larger crystals, typically 1 to 4 mm, for textile, leather, photographic, and concrete-admixture markets, and for the heat-pack industry, where transparent prismatic crystals make the supercooling and crystallisation more visually appealing in clear-window pads.
Applications
- Pickling and acidification brines for cucumbers, peppers, and fermented vegetables
- Processed meat and poultry brines, frequently in combination with sodium lactate for Listeria control and pH stability
- Beverage pH buffering in juice, isotonic, and dairy drinks
- Hemodialysis concentrate solutions, where the trihydrate dissolves cleanly to give the target acetate concentration
- Intravenous nutrition and electrolyte replacement, including Ringer's acetate
- Reusable heat packs, hand warmers, and self-heating meal trays based on the trihydrate's 58 °C melting point and dramatic supercooling behaviour
- Photographic stop-bath and fixing-bath formulations
- Textile dyeing as a mordant and pH buffer
- Leather tanning bath buffer
- Concrete admixture as a set retarder and freeze-thaw protectant for winter pours
- Laboratory acetate buffer at pH 3.6 to 5.6
Brands Using Sodium Acetate Trihydrate
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Sodium Acetate Trihydrate on the ingredient label.
- PepsiCo (Lay's)Lay's Salt & Vinegar Flavored Potato Chips ↗Ingredient panel includes Sodium Acetate (E262); both anhydrous and trihydrate forms appear as 'sodium acetate' on US labels per FDA naming.Label verified 2026-05-24
- Utz (Zapp's)Zapp's Salt & Vinegar Kettle-Style Potato Chips ↗Brand seasoning blend lists Sodium Acetate; the trihydrate is the commercially common food-grade crystalline form.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 Sodium Acetate Trihydrate
Top Sodium Acetate Trihydrate manufacturers in China.
Lianyungang Nuoxin Food Ingredient Co., Ltd.13 ingredients in the directory
Lianyungang Tongyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd.11 ingredients in the directory
Lianyungang Zhonghong Chemical Co., Ltd.11 ingredients in the directory
Nantong Alchemy Biotech Development Co., Ltd.8 ingredients in the directory
Shandong Luhu Biological Technology Co., Ltd.9 ingredients in the directory- Shandong Ruiheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd.8 ingredients in the directory
- Shandong Sanxu Food Technology Co., Ltd.7 ingredients in the directory
Shandong Tongtaiweirun Food Science Tech Co., Ltd.9 ingredients in the directory
Tengzhou Aolong Chemical Co., Ltd.12 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 Sodium Acetate Trihydrate
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 Sodium Acetate Trihydrate 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 Sodium Acetate Trihydrate 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
Sodium acetate trihydrate is treated by most regulators as one substance with the anhydrous form.
The European Union assigns it the food-additive number E262(i). EFSA has reviewed the acetates and concluded that current use is not of safety concern, with no numerical intake limit. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists sodium acetate as Generally Recognized as Safe under 21 CFR 184.1721.
JECFA places the acetates in the not-specified category. The Codex Alimentarius general standard for food additives permits sodium acetate across multiple food categories.
Pharmacopoeial monographs for sodium acetate trihydrate appear in the United States Pharmacopeia, the European Pharmacopoeia, the British Pharmacopoeia, and the Japanese Pharmacopoeia. The Food Chemicals Codex specifies the trihydrate with a water content of 38 to 41 percent and an assay of 98 to 102 percent on the dry basis.
Halal and Kosher certifications are routinely available, since the feedstocks (acetic acid and sodium hydroxide or carbonate) are mineral, fermentation, or petrochemical in origin and contain no animal inputs.
Manufacturing Process
Sodium acetate trihydrate is produced by neutralisation followed by controlled crystallisation.
The process starts with food-grade or technical-grade acetic acid, which is combined with sodium hydroxide solution or sodium carbonate in a stirred reactor under temperature control. The reaction is exothermic, so cooling water is circulated through the jacket to keep the batch below about 80 °C. If sodium carbonate is used, carbon dioxide evolves and is vented or recovered.
The neutralised solution is filtered to remove insolubles, polished with activated carbon if a high-clarity product is required, and concentrated by vacuum evaporation. The hot concentrate is then transferred to crystallisers and cooled slowly to 20 to 30 °C, where transparent prismatic crystals of the trihydrate form.
The crystals are separated by basket centrifuge, washed lightly with cold water or saturated mother liquor, and dried gently in fluid-bed dryers below 50 °C to avoid melting in the crystal water. The mother liquor is recycled to maintain yield.
Major production capacity is located in China, India, Western Europe, and North America, generally co-located with acetic-acid or chlor-alkali plants for feedstock efficiency.
