Calcium Propionate

About This Product

Calcium propionate, C6H10CaO4 with CAS number 4075-81-4, is supplied as a white free-flowing powder or granule, readily soluble in water and essentially odourless. In feed and grain its function is mould control, and the mechanism is pH-dependent as with all propionates: the undissociated propionic acid crosses the fungal cell membrane and disrupts internal metabolism. What makes the calcium salt preferable to free propionic acid in this setting is handling rather than efficacy. Propionic acid is a corrosive, strongly odorous liquid that attacks galvanised and mild steel equipment and is unpleasant to dose; the calcium salt is a neutral, free-flowing powder that mixes into a feed blend without corroding the mill and without the persistent odour. The calcium it contributes is a useful mineral rather than a contaminant. In construction it serves as a corrosion inhibitor for embedded steel and a mild set modifier, and in industrial water systems it is used against fungal fouling. It is used in animal feed and stored grain preservation, silage treatment, concrete admixtures, industrial mould control and in agricultural products. Bio Green Chem supplies calcium propionate to specification on assay, free acid and alkali, loss on drying, fluoride, iron and heavy metals.