Copper sulphate is a very versatile chemical with as extensive a range of uses in industry as it has in agriculture. Its principal employment is in agriculture, and, up to a generation or so ago about its only uses in industry were as a mordant for dyeing and for electroplating, but today it is being employed in many industrial processes:
Indeed, today there is hardly an industry which does not have some small use for copper sulphate. In the table below, some of the many uses of copper sulphate are listed.
Classification |
Application |
Agriculture |
Major
uses |
Preparation
of Bordeaux and Burgundy mixtures for use as fungicides |
|
Manufacture
of other copper fungicides such as copper-lime dust,
tribasic |
|
copper
sulphate, copper carbonate and cuprous oxide |
|
Manufacture
of insecticides such as copper arsenite and Paris green |
|
Control
of fungus diseases |
|
Correction
of copper deficiency in soils |
|
Correction
of copper deficiency in animals |
|
Growth
stimulant for fattening pigs and broiler chickens |
|
Molluscicide
for the destruction of slugs and snails, particularly the
snail host of the liver fluke |
Other
uses |
Seed
dressing |
|
Soil
steriliser, e.g. Cheshunt compound (a mixture of copper
sulphate and ammonium carbonate) to prevent
"damping-off" disease of tomato, etc. |
|
Control
and prevention of foot rot in sheep and cattle |
|
Bacteriastat
for addition to sheep dips |
|
Disinfectant
in prevention of the spread of swine erysepelas and white
scours in calves |
|
Control
of scum in farm ponds |
|
Plant
nutrient in rice fields |
|
Preservative
for wooden posts, wooden buildings, etc. |
|
Preservative
for wooden fruit boxes, planting baskets and other
containers |
|
Ingredient
of vermin repellents, e.g. for application to bark of
trees against rabbits |
|
Stimulant
of latex yield on rubber plantations |
|
Protection
against algal growths on flower pots |
Public health and medicine |
|
Destruction
of algal blooms in reservoirs and swimming pools |
|
Prevention
of the spread of athletes foot in warm climates, by
incorporation in the flooring mixture of swimming baths |
|
Control
of bilharzia in tropical countries, as a molluscicide |
|
Prevention
of malaria, in the preparation of Paris green for use
against osquito larvae |
|
Antiseptic
and germicide against fungus infections |
|
Catalyst
or raw material for the preparation of copper catalysts
used in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products |
Industry |
Adhesives |
Preservative
in casein and other glues |
|
Additive
to book binding pastes and glues, for insecticidal
purposes |
|
Additive
to animal and silicate glues to give water resistance |
Building |
Timber
preservative and in the preparation of other wood
preservatives, e.g. oil based copper naphthenates and
water based copper/chrome/arsenic for the |
|
prevention
of woodworms and wood rots |
|
Ingredient
of plaster to prevent fungus infection, e.g. to prevent
the spread of dry rot |
|
Ingredient
of concrete, both as a colouring matter and as an
antiseptic, e.g. for use in and around swimming pools |
|
Modification
of the setting of concrete |
|
Protection
against lichens, moulds and similar growths on asbestos
cement roofing and other building materials |
|
Control
of the growth of tree roots in sewers |
Chemical |
Preparation
of catalysts for use in many industries |
|
Purification
of gases, e.g. removal of hydrogen chloride and hydrogen
sulphide |
|
Precipitation
promoter in purifying zinc sulphate solutions |
|
Precipitation
of alkaloids as double salts from crude extracts |
|
Source
of other copper compounds such as copper carbonate
silicate/arsenite/ |
|
aceto-arsenite/resinate/stearate/tartrate/oleate
naphthenate/chromate/chlorate |
|
/alginate/fluoride/hydroxide,
cuprous oxide/chloride/cyanide and |
|
cuprammonium
compounds |
Decorative
trades |
Colouring
glass |
|
Colouring
cement and plaster |
|
Colouring
ceramic wares |
|
Alteration
of metal colours, e.g. darkening of zinc, colouring
aluminium |
Dyestuffs |
Reagent
in the preparation of dyestuffs intermediates |
|
Catalyst
or raw material for the preparation of copper catalysts,
e.g. preparation of phenols from diazo compounds,
preparation of phthalocyanine dyes |
Leather |
Mordant
in dyeing |
|
Reagent
in tanning processes |
Metal
and
electrical |
Electrolyte
in copper refining |
|
Electrolyte
in copper plating and electro forming |
|
Electrolytic
manufacture of cuprous compounds, e.g. cuprous oxide |
|
Constituent
of the electrodes and electrolytes in batteries |
|
Electrolyte
in the manufacture of copper powder |
|
Electrolyte
in aluminium plating and anodising |
|
Copper
coating steel wire, prior to wire drawing |
|
Pickling
copper wire, etc., prior to enamelling |
|
Providing
a suitable surface for marking out iron and steel |
Mining |
Flotation
reagent in the concentration of ores, e.g. zinc blende |
Paint |
Raw
material for the manufacture of copper naphthenate and
other copper compounds for use in anti-fouling paints |
|
Preparation
of certain varnish or paint dryers, e.g. copper oleate,
copper stearate |
|
Preparation
of certain pigments, e.g. copper chromate, copper
ferrocyanide, copper phthalocyanine |
Printing |
Etching
agent for process engraving |
|
Electrolyte
in the preparation of electrotype |
|
Ingredient
of printing inks |
Synthetic
rubber |
Preparation
of catalysts used in cracking certain gaseous and liquid
petroleum |
and
petroleum |
Fractions |
|
Preparation
of cuprous chloride, used in the purification of
butadiene and in the separation of acetylene derivatives |
|
Preparation
of catalysts used in chlorinating rubber latex |
|
Purification
of petroleum oils |
Textiles |
Preparation
of copper compounds for rot-proofing canvas and other
fabrics |
|
Rot-proofing
sandbags |
|
Mordant,
especially in calico printing |
|
Cuprammonium
process for the production of rayon |
|
Production
of aniline black and diazo colours for dyeing |
|
"After
coppering" to increase the fastness of dyes |
|
Catalyst
in the manufacture of cellulose ethers and in cellulose
acetylation |
Miscellaneous |
Improving
the burning qualities of coke |
|
Laboratory
analytical work |
|
Ingredient
of laundry marking ink |
|
Dyeing
of hair and horn |
|
Ingredient
of hair dyes of the phenylene diamine or pyrogallol type |
|
Preparation
of chlorophyll as a colouring material for food stuffs |
|
Imparting
a green colour in fireworks |
|
Activator
in the preparation of active carbons |
|
Preservative
for wood pulp |
|
Preservation
of fishing nets and hides on trawls |
|
Obtaining
a blue-black finish on steel |
|
Treatment
of carbon brushes |
|
Ingredient
of the solution used for preserving plant specimens in
their natural colours |
|
Impregnation
in fruit wrapping papers to prevent storage rots |
