Ammonium Propionate

About This Product

Ammonium propionate, C3H9NO2 with CAS number 17496-08-1, is supplied as an aqueous solution, typically around 50 percent, or absorbed onto a solid carrier. Unlike the calcium and sodium salts it is deliquescent, which is why it is not sold as a free-flowing powder. Its principal use is treating grain and forage harvested at high moisture. Grain that cannot be dried before storage will heat and mould, and the conventional alternatives are drying, which costs fuel, or acid treatment with propionic acid, which is corrosive to augers, bins and skin. Ammonium propionate delivers the same antifungal propionate chemistry in a buffered, far less corrosive form that can be sprayed onto grain as it passes into store. The ammonium ion contributes a second benefit in ruminant feeding: rumen microbes can convert non-protein nitrogen into microbial protein, so the nitrogen is not wasted. In monogastric feed that conversion does not occur, so the nitrogen has no nutritional value and only the preservative effect applies. It is used in high-moisture grain and forage preservation, compound feed manufacture, silage additives and industrial mould control. Bio Green Chem supplies ammonium propionate to specification on assay, propionic acid content, pH, density, colour and heavy metals.