What is EDTA?

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is an important complexing agent. It is a hexadentate ligand that can chelate various metal ions. Its four acid and two amine parts can be used as the teeth of ligand to form Chelation with manganese (II), copper (II), iron (III), cobalt (II) and other metal ions.

EDTA has extensive coordination properties and can form stable Chelation with almost all metal ions. EDTA is a large family that includes EDTA acid, Ca, Fe, Mg, Na, Zn, etc. It can be seen that the EDTA series has a wide range of uses, and EDTA can be applied to compounds widely used in personal care, skin care, processed foods, cosmetics, and cleaning products. EDTA also has a wide range of medical, engineering, agricultural, and industrial applications. Below, let me give you a specific explanation about the application of EDTA in various fields.

Application of EDTA in the field of daily chemicals

In cosmetics, personal care, and skin care products, EDTA is the main chelating agent (binding free metal ions), preservative, stabilizer, and purifying agent, which can maintain the formula free of metal ions and residues from tap water. It helps to reduce the hardness (mineral content) of tap water, so that other active ingredients in the formula, such as shampoo or shower gel, can function more effectively. EDTA also contributes to the local penetration of Active ingredient in skin care, thereby increasing the serum level of beneficial chemicals.

The Application of EDTA in the Food Industry

EDTA is commonly used as a preservative, stabilizer, and protection against discoloration and oxidation in food and beverages. Please note that the purity of food grade EDTA must be above 99%. It is a widely approved food additive (such as the FDA in the United States), an antioxidant and quality improver, and has functions such as preventing oil oxidation, food browning, and emulsified food.

The Application of EDTA in the Medical Field

EDTA is used to treat mercury and other heavy metal poisoning through chelation therapy. Similarly, it can remove excess iron and calcium from the body. In medical applications related to blood, EDTA optimizes repeated blood transfusion and is an effective Anticoagulant, which can prevent blood samples from clotting and cell samples from caking. This is particularly important in clinical blood testing and cell analysis. EDTA is also used as a preservative for eye drops, as a decalcifying agent and preparation agent in oral surgery and dentistry, and as an anti plaque agent in arteries.

The Application of EDTA in the Industrial Field

EDTA is the main chelating agent for removing free metal ions. Almost all of its uses for human beings come from this single attribute. In the laundry industry, this means removing impurities from hard water. In the Textile manufacturing, EDTA can prevent free metal ions and impurities from fading dyed fabrics. In the paper industry, EDTA contributes to the effectiveness of pulp bleaching and purification processes. EDTA can also remove residual residue and scale on industrial equipment such as broilers that operate at high temperatures. In laundry products and cleaning agents, EDTA can soften hard water and improve the bleaching and cleaning performance of non chlorine cleaning agents.

The Application of EDTA in Agriculture

As is well known, fertilizer is an indispensable nutrient in the cultivation of crops. And many fertilizers indicate that they are “chelating Hefei”. So what are the advantages of chelating Hefei? Chelated fertilizers have been proven through experiments to effectively enhance crops’ resistance to drought, high temperature, low temperature, and salt alkali, as well as their lodging resistance. At the same time, chelated trace element fertilizers are not easily fixed in soil, soluble in water, and do not dissociate, and can be well absorbed and utilized by plants. EDTA is a chelating agent. As a trace element nutrient, EDTA is used in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry or other cash crop.

We are a company that integrates research, development, production, and sales. We produce a series of EDTA products, with the main products as follows:

Production Name	CAS No.
EDTA ACID	60-00-4
EDTA-2NA	139-33-3
EDTA-2NA*2H2O	6381-92-6
EDTA-4Na	64-02-8
EDTA-4Na.2H2O	10378-23-1
EDTA-4Na.4H2O	13254-36-4
EDTA-FE	15708-41-5
EDTA-ZN	14025-21-9
EDTA-Mn	15375-84-5
EDTA-Cu	14025-15-1
EDTA-MG	14402-88-1
EDTA-CA	62-33-9
EDTA DIPOTASSIUM MAGNESIUM SALT, DIHYDRATE	15708-48-2
EDTA Co	14931-83-0
DTPA 5Na 40% and 50% solution	140-01-2
EDTA -FeK	54959-35-2
DTPA-Fe	19529-38-5
HEDTA	150-39-0
HEDTA-3NA	139-89-9
HEDTA-3NA 39% solution	139-89-9
HEDTA-Fe	17084-02-5
EDDHA-FeNa	16455-61-1

Overall, EDTA is widely used and plays a crucial role in the development of various fields. I believe that there will be better and more favorable chelating agents to replace EDTA in the future, but currently, EDTA is irreplaceable.