If you ever wonder how little particles work together to keep things clean and healthy, you will benefit a lot from learning about a special little compound known as EDTA, and its related salt, EDTA disodium. Names that might be big-sounding, but do big work in our world. Time to journey togther down the rabbit hole of EDTA and EDTA disodium salt!
EDTA is short for ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, which is a mouthful. You already know and have been told what it really does is simple: It helps metals grab hold of and not let go of other metals. This grabbing and holding is what’s known as chelation, and EDTA is a pro at it. This capability is what makes EDTA a useful chelating agent, which means that it can clean and help things work better in a bunch of different ways.
The great thing about EDTA is that it can be converted into another form, called EDTA disodium salt, which turns out to be even more useful in the factory. EDTA disodium salt is used by industries to help clean machines and pipes, clutching on to metals that might accumulate and cause problems. It also helps metals from reacting with other chemicals, which is very dangerous. The factories depend on using the EDTA disodium salt to keep their machines running smoothly and safely.
If we have too much of them in our bodies, heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium can be harmful. Fortunately, there’s a safe way to remove these metals from the body using EDTA and EDTA disodium salt in a process known as chelation therapy! Chelation therapy works by injecting a solution that contains EDTA into the body, and as it circulates it grabs onto the heavy metals, and they’re excreted through our urine. This action assists the body in its cleansing process, and we are safer in prevention of heavy metal exposure.
Water treatment facilities use EDTA to help scrub and purify water for drinking and other purposes. EDTA can snatch metals and other bad stuff out of the water and make them easier to remove. This is how we can be sure that the water we drink is safe, and not full of dangerous stuff. And their plants cleanse and filter water with EDTA.“It’s a way of giving us clean, healthy water while also using these elements to solve this problem,” says Frank.
In medicine, EDTA disodium is used for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning, lead poisoning and for having a role in the management of calcium metabolism. It helps medications remain stable and keeps them from degrading too fast. Which means that when there is medicines with EDTA disodium salt, the same can perform better as well as stay longer, too. Through the use of EDTA disodium salt, companies are able to develop safe and effective drugs to alleviate various health related issues.