Dipotassium phosphate (K2HPO4), referred to as DKP, is an inorganic chemical product. It is a white or colorless solid that is soluble in water. For the details of chemical and physical properties, you could check the doc of Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).
There are two types of dipotassium phosphate: 3hydrate and anhydrous DKP. The below table shows the HS code and CAS code of dipotassium phosphate.
| Product Name | Formular | HS code | CAS No. |
| Dipotassium Phosphate 3Hydrate | K2HPO4.3H2O | 28352400 | 16788-57-1 |
| Dipotassium Phosphate Anhydrous | K2HPO4 | 28352400 | 7758-11-4 |
What is another name for dipotassium phosphate?
There are many other names for dipotassium phosphate, for example:
- Dipotassium monophosphate;
- Secondary potassium phosphate;
- Dipotassium orthophosphate;
- Dibasic potassium phosphate；
- Dipotassium hydrogen monophosphate;
- Dipotassium hydrogen phosphate;
- Dipotassium hydrogen orthophosphate
The most commonly used product names for K2HPO4 are dipotassium phosphate, and Dibasic potassium phosphate, Dipotassium hydrogen phosphate.
What is dipotassium phosphate used for?
Dipotassium Phosphate can be used in many industries, such as Food & Beverage, pharmaceuticals, Health & Personal care products, Agriculture, Animal Feed, Poultry, etc.
In food processing:
As food additives, dipotassium phosphate is used in imitation dairy creamers and dry powder beverages. It functions as an emulsifier, stabilizer, and texturizer; it also is a buffering agent and chelating agent, especially for the calcium in milk products. Also used in non-dairy creamers to prevent coagulation. Dipotassium phosphate is one of the numerous preservatives with antioxidant properties, which are used in numerous dairy products, particularly cheeses, as a way of lowering their acid content.
Dipotassium phosphate used as a food additive is categorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
In fertilizer application:
Dipotassium phosphate is used as a water soluble fertilizer and as a source of potassium and phosphorus for plant growth.
In pharmaceuticals:
Dipotassium Phosphate is used as a mineral supplement for the body, and for producing the drug. It is also used as a starter culture.
There are 7 things you need to know when purchasing DKP:
- What kind of specification do you want to buy?
- How to evaluate your supplier?
- How to guarantee the quality of DKP?
- What is the packing or marks for dipotassium phosphate?
- How many quantities are in each container?
- How do choose the delivery?
- Which kind of payment term is suitable for you?
Let us discuss these questions one by one:
1. What kind of specification do you want to buy?
Based on its different application, dipotassium phosphate have many different grades, such as fertilizer grade, industrial grade, feed grade, food grade, pharmaceutical grade, reagent grade, electronic, etc. With different grades, its specification index is also different.
Obviously, the quality and price can vary greatly with different grades. Typically, fertilizer grade is the cheaper, and reagent grade is the most expensive.
Although fertilizer-grade dipotassium phosphate is mainly used in the fertilizer industry, some companies whose customers require higher product quality, such as European and American customers, also purchase food-grade dipotassium for fertilizer production.
The below shows the difference in specification of food grade and tech grade on dipotassium phosphate. ( National Standard GB 1886.334-2021).
K2HPO4.3H2O Specifications:
| Item | Tech Grade | Food Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | white crystal | white crystal |
| Main contents | 98.0% Min | 98.0% Min |
| Phophorus pentoxide P2O5 | 40.0% Min | 40.0% Min |
| K2O | 53.0% Min | 53.0% Min |
| PH value | 8.2-9.6 | 8.2-9.6 |
| Water insoluble matter | 0.1% Max | 0.03%Max |
| Fluoride, as F | ___ | 0.003 % Max |
| Heavy metals,as Pb | ___ | 0.003%Max |
| Arsenic ,as As | ___ | 0.0003%Max |
| Chlorides,as Cl- | ___ | 0.05%Max |
K2HPO4 Specifications:
| Item | Tech Grade | Food Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | White powder | White powder |
| Main contents | 98.0% Min | 98.0% Min |
| Phophorus pentoxide P2O5 | 40.0% Min | 40.0% Min |
| K2O | 53.0% Min | 53.0% Min |
| PH value | 8.6-9.4 | 8.6-9.4 |
| Water insoluble matter | 0.3% Max | 0.1% Max |
| Fluoride, as F | 0.003 % Max | 0.001 % Max |
| Heavy metals,as Pb | 0.01%Max | 0.001 % Max |
| Arsenic ,as As | 0.002%Max | 0.0003 % Max |
| Chlorides,as Cl- | 0.05%Max | 0.05% Max |
For reagent-grade dipotassium phosphate, there are analytical reagents and chemical reagents, which are compared with the following indicators.
| ITEM | ANALYTICAL REAGENTS | CHEMICAL REAGENTS |
| MAIN CONTENT (K2HPO4·3H2O) | ≥99% | ≥97% |
| INSOLUBLE MATTER IN WATER | ≤0.01% | ≤0.03% |
| Cl | ≤0.002% | ≤0.005% |
| SO4 | ≤0.01% | ≤0.03% |
| NO3 | ≤0.001% | ≤0.003% |
| Na | ≤0.05% | ≤0.03% |
| Mg | ≤0.001% | ≤0.001% |
| Fe | ≤0.001% | ≤0.003% |
| As | ≤0.0001% | ≤0.0003% |
| HEAVY METAL AS Pb | ≤0.001% | ≤0.003% |
| PH ( 50g/L , 25℃） | 8.9-9.4 | 8.9-9.4 |
Above we are mainly talking about the indicators of trihydrate dipotassium phosphate.
In addition, there is also an anhydrous grade of dipotassium, which is divided into heavy anhydrous grade and light anhydrous grade, both with a slightly different appearance and density but with the same function. The bulk density of heavy anhydrous dipotassium is 1.0-1.35, with a loading capacity of 25 tons/fcl, while the bulk density of light dipotassium is 0.24-0.43g/ml, with a loading capacity of 15 tons/FCL.
Obviously, the heavy anhydrous product with more loading capacity in one container will help you save a lot of sea costs, especially for long-distance transportation.
That said, before purchasing DKP, you need to be clear on whether you want a 3-hydrate or anhydrous grade, heavy anhydrous or light anhydrous, and where it will be used.
2. How to evaluate suppliers?
1) Check if the company or product has relevant certificates, such as ISO certificate, HACCP certificate, HALAL certificate…etc.
If exported to the United States for food-grade products, the supplier must have FDA certification.
If exported to Europe, the supplier needs to have REACH certification.
The cost of these certifications is relatively expensive.
2) The most important thing is word of mouth, you can check the export information through customs data. A company that has long-term stable export data is a trustworthy company.
3. how to guarantee quality ?
The export of dipotassium products is not subject to legal inspection. It does not require a commodity inspection report from the State Bureau of Commodity Inspection. Normally the test report is issued by the manufacturer. If the customer needs an inspection before shipment by the third organization, we can also provide CIQ inspection or health certificate issued by the State Commodity Inspection Bureau. Of course, if you need an SGS test report before shipment, it is also no problem. We can also supply it. but the cost of SGS is very high and needs to be borne by the customer.
4. What is the packing or marks for dipotassium phosphate?
There are inner plastic and outer woven bags or paper bag packaging we can provide. Normally the mark is neutral mark. We also supply packing marks according to customerrequirements.
5. How many quantities are in each container?
For 3hydrate DKP, the quantity can be loaded as 25mt in 20’fcl;
For light anhydrous DKP, the quantity is 15mt in 20’fcl, 25mt in 40’fcl.
For heavy anhydrous DKP, the quantity is 25mt in 20’fcl.
Above loading quantities are without pallets.
6. How to choose the delivery?
By courier:
For small quantities, such as a few hundred grams or a few kilograms or less, we usually use FedEx.
By Air:
If the quantity is more than 100kg, we can deliver it by air. For this delivery, you need to pick up the material at the airport.
By Truck:
For quantities is 10 kg at least if by truck. Compare with other delivery, this kind of delivery is cheaper than that of by air. But it is only suitable for inland countries that are connected with China.
By sea:
This is the cheapest way of transportation.
A container can hold 25 tons/fcl for trihydrate dipotassium phosphate, if fact, 27 tons can also be loaded if without limitation, but most customers prefer to ship by 25 tons per container only.
If shipping to the USA, the weight limit is usually 20 tons due to local road weight restrictions, some customers may also request a weight limit of 18 tons.
Since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, many shipping companies have stopped shipping to Russian ports. However, there are still many ways to transport goods to Russia.
By railway:
This kind of transportation is characterized by higher costs but shorter transportation time and is limited to inland countries adjacent to China. It should be noted that, according to the regulations of the China State Railway Bureau, one container can only contain one kind of product, and can not be loaded as two or more products mixed in one container.
The approximate time required for shipping is as follows：
- If by whole sea delivery from Qingdao to St. Petersburg, the shipment takes about 45-50 days ( the shipping schedule is unstable).
- If chosen by sea-railroad combination transport, it will only take about 40 days from Qingdao to St. Petersburg ;
- If choose whole railroad transport, it will take less than 30 days ( the cost is high ).
Please don’t forget to return the container after you picked up the material if delivered by railway. The charges for returning a container are usually several hundred US dollars, for example, the charge for returning a container in St. Petersburg or Yekaterinburg is usually between USD350-500.
Also please remember to return the waybill stamped by Russian customs to the supplier if delivering the goods by railway.
7. Which kind of payment term is suitable for you?
Currently, our most popular payment method is T/T before shipment, but we also accept LC at sight.
We not only accept payments in US dollars but also in RMB and Euros. Currently, Many clients would like to work with CNY payment, for example for these clients from Russia, Argentina, Turkey, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and so on.
Well, that’s the 6 points that need to be noted. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Finally, I wish you good luck with your purchase. Thanks.
