CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Science & Nature

Potassium formate

chemical compound

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ418356
Source-derived summary

Potassium formate, HCO2K, HCOOK, or KHCO2, is the potassium salt of formic acid. This strongly hygroscopic white solid is an intermediate in the formate potash process for the production of potassium. Potassium formate has also been studied as a potential environmentally friendly deicing salt for use on roads. It has also been suggested for use in a less corrosive liquid desiccant. A 52% solution of potassium formate has a freezing point of −60 °C (−76 °F). Potassium formate brines are sometimes used for heat transfer, despite being much more corrosive than many other liquid coolants, especially to zinc and aluminum but even to many steels,

though some formulations are compatible with aluminum and steels.

Since 1995, potassium formate has been increasingly used in aqueous drilling fluids to increase density, stabilize the hole, and improve drilling performance.

Editorial summary

“Potassium formate” enters the record as chemical compound. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Potassium, formate and chemical can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1995—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Potassium, formate and chemical.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Potassium formate” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Potassium, formate and chemical provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q418356. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1995.

Critical limits

A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Potassium formate”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Potassium formate primary sources, Potassium formate archive and Potassium research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Potassium formate”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Potassium formate” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.