Potassium Bromate: Formula, Structure & Uses

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Jasmine Grover

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Potassium bromate, an ionic compound or salt, is formed when K+ and BrO³- combine. It is a strong oxidizer that is widely used in baking. Potassium bromate is a powerful oxidising agent. Potassium bromate is a white powder. Bromic acid and potassium salt are two other names for potassium bromate. KBrO3 is the empirical and molecular formula for potassium bromate.

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Key Terms: Potassium Bromate, Carcinogen, Bromic acid, Potassium salt, Ionic molecule, Potassium ion.


What is Potassium Bromate?

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K+ and BrO³-combine to generate potassium bromate, an ionic compound or salt. It is an artificial substance. It is a powerful oxidizer that is commonly used in baking. Potassium bromate is a white powder that is a strong oxidising agent. Alternative names for potassium bromate include bromic acid and potassium salt.

Empirical and Molecular formula of potassium bromate is KBrO2.

What is potassium Bromate

Potassium bromate

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Structure of Potassium Bromate

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The ionic link involving the potassium ion (cation) and the bromate ion forms this ionic molecule (anion). The hexagonal crystal structure is seen.

What is Potassium Bromate

Structure of Potassium Bromate

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Physical & Chemical Properties of Potassium Bromate

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  • It comes in the form of a white crystalline powder.
  • It has high oxidising power.
  • The molar mass of this substance is 167 g.mol-¹.
  • 3.27 g.cm-³ is its density.
  • It has a melting point of 350 degrees Celsius.
  • It has a boiling point of 370 degrees Celsius.
  • At high temperatures, it breaks down.
  • It is soluble in water. 
  • In acetone, it is unreactive and also potassium bromate is not soluble in acetone.
  • It has a hexagonal crystal structure.
  • It is made of non-flammable material.
  • Its oral dosage of 157 mg/kg can be fatal.
  • It is a cancer-causing chemical.
  • At a temperature of 25 °C, its pH ranges from 5 to 9.

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Preparation of Potassium Bromate

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Potassium Bromate is prepared by the following methods.

Method 1

  1. Bromine gas and potassium hydroxide are used to make potassium bromate. 
  2. Potassium hypobromite is formed while bromine gas is poured over heated potassium hydroxide. 
  3. Potassium hypobromite on disproportionation generates potassium bromate. 
  4. Byproducts include potassium bromide and freshwater. 
  5. The following is the reaction —

3Br2 + 6KOH \(\rightarrow\) KBrO3 + 5KBr + 3H2O

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Method 2 

  1. Electrolyte of potassium bromide liquid is yet another technique of obtaining potassium bromate. 
  2. Potassium bromate is made via electrification of dilute KBr mixture. Because potassium bromide has a far good solubility at 0 °C than potassium bromate, the liquid is cooled to 0 °C following the production of potassium bromate, and all potassium bromate precipitates whereas all potassium bromide stays in the liquid. 
  3. Both of these procedures for making potassium bromate are quite equivalent to those used to make chlorates

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Uses of Potassium Bromate

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  • Baking uses potassium bromate as an ingredient. Around 1923, it was used widely as an oxidising agent and batter stabiliser in the production of bakery items. 
  • It strengthens the wheat gluten, which enhances the baking qualities of flour and dough. As a result, it promotes gas endurance and generates a lot of baked goods. It was widely used in most nations until the 1980s and 1990s, but its consumption has lately declined due to its carcinogenic qualities.
  • It is used as an ingredient in baking items because of its oxidising properties. It oxidises sulfhydryl groups in enzymes and joins two molecules of protein to produce disulfide bridges. As a result, it aids in the bonding of protein molecules. 
  • This bridge of protein molecules aids in more efficiently capturing the gas produced during the brewing process. A schematic depicting the action of potassium bromate in protein crosslinking can be seen below -
  • If the batter is not cooked entirely at a sufficiently high temperature, a residual quantity of potassium bromate will remain in the baking process, which, being a carcinogen, is extremely dangerous to one's wellbeing if taken raw.
  • It can also be utilized in the manufacture of malt barley, although food and drug management requirements must be observed while using it in malt production.

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Serious Health Risk of Potassium Bromate

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Potassium bromate is a chemical that is marginally poisonous. Some of the symptoms of Potassium Bromate poisoning are:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhoea
  • Lung problems
  • A drop in body temperature
  • Methemoglobinemia
  • Kidney damage

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Things to Remember

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  • Potassium bromate, an ionic compound or salt, is formed when K+ and BrO³- mix. 
  • Potassium bromate is made from bromine gas and potassium hydroxide.
  • According to the Food and Drug Administration, potassium bromate is allowed in foods as long as it does not exceed 750 parts per million.
  • The molar mass is 167 g.mol-¹ and has a density of 3.27 g.cm-³. The melting point of this substance is 350 degrees Celsius.
  • It reaches a temperature of 370 degrees Celsius when heated. Its pH varies from 5 to 9 at 25 degrees Celsius.

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Sample questions

Ques 1. What foods have potassium bromate in them? (3 marks)

Ans: Potassium bromate is typically present in flour-based foods. It is present in bread, flours, puff pastry, and buns, among other things. Potassium bromate was identified as a potential carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 1999. Potassium bromate is allowed in foodstuffs as long as it does not exceed 750 parts per million, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Ques 2. Why does the government ban potassium bromate? (3 marks)

Ans: Due to carcinogenic characteristics, numerous nations have banned its usage as a food ingredient. As per a Japanese study, potassium bromate generates cancer in rats and mice, implying that it can also cause cancer in people. More research is currently being done.

India has also provided rules for its restricted application. The permissible maximum for potassium bromate as a flavour enhancer, according to the Food safety and standards authority, is 50 parts per million. The Food safety and standards authority has eliminated potassium bromate from the list of permitted additives.

Ques 3. Why do alkenes and alkynes have the ability to decolourize alkaline KMnO4 and bromine water? (3 marks)

Ans: The alkynes are not decolourized by bromine water. One or even more triple bonds exist in alkynes. When bromine reacts with bromine liquid, it fractures its connections with liquid and establishes bonds with alkynes, allowing the alkyne to replace the cyclic structure with a double bond.

Ques 4 What is Potassium Bromate, and how does it work? (3 marks)

Ans: Potassium bromate (KBrO2) and potassium iodate (KIO3) are widely used in food. Even though potassium bromate was approved premised on the notion that no trace of bromate would've been detected in the end product, studies started to uncover measurable residues of bromate in completed goods.

Ques 5. What is the purpose of Potassium bromate? (3 marks)

Ans: Bread manufacturers and bakers can adopt KBrO2 or Potassium Bromate as flour processing agents, as per Indian food standards. According to the article, potassium bromate aids in the multistory and consistent finish, and it was once widely employed in various regions of the world. Despite the fact that bread is a reduced, limited, elevated industry, the cost of switching to a safer option is negligible.

Ques 6. What are the health risks of consuming potassium bromate? (3 marks)

Ans: Potassium bromate is a compound with low toxicity. Consumption symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, respiratory issues, a reduction in body temperature, methemoglobinemia, and kidney damage. It has been reported that toothpaste might cause gum inflammation and bleeding.

Ques 7. What is the structure of Potassium bromate? (3 marks)

Ans. Potassium Bromate is a powerful oxidising agent, potassium bromate is a white powder. Bromic acid and potassium salt are two more names for potassium bromate. KBrO2 is the empirical and molecular formula for potassium bromate.

Potassium bromate structure

This ionic molecule is formed by the ionic connection between the potassium ion (cation) and the bromate ion (anion). It is possible to discern the hexagonal crystal structure. Potassium bromate, an ionic compound or salt, is formed when K+ and BrO3- mix. It's a man-made material. It's a strong oxidizer that's widely used in bakes.

Ques 8. Potassium bromate is soluble in water?(2 marks)

Ans. Its absorption in water grows as the heat rises. For instance, 3.1 grams of potassium bromate is dissolved in 100 ml of liquid at 0 degrees Celsius,13.3 grams of potassium bromate can be soluble in 100 ml of liquid at 40 degrees Celsius. When it comes into contact with water, it reacts strongly.

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