Potassium carbonate · K2CO3
Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) is a brine salt; this page gives computed density, dynamic viscosity and specific heat capacity for aqueous solutions from 5–35 wt% and -25–40 °C.
Values are computed from CoolProp's incompressible aqueous-mixture correlation (Melinder, 2010) and tabulated over 5–35 wt% and -25–40 °C.
- Also known as
- Potash, Pearl ash, Dipotassium carbonate
- CAS number
- 584-08-7
- Tabulated range
- 5–35 wt% · -25–40 °C
- Properties
- Density · Dynamic viscosity · Specific heat capacity · Specific gravity
- Density
- 1190.3kg/m³
- Density
- 1.1903g/cm³
- Specific gravity
- 1.192
- Viscosity
- 1.714cP
- Specific heat
- 3309J/kg·K
Read a value at any point
Move the sliders to interpolate between the tabulated grid points. The readout and chart never go outside the validated 5–35 wt% and -25–40 °C range, and every number is interpolated from the committed table below — nothing is computed from a chemistry model in your browser.
Values are interpolated between the tabulated grid points below — sliders stay within the validated 5–35 wt% and -25–40 °C range.
- Density
- 1190.3 kg/m³
- Density
- 1.1903 g/cm³
- Specific gravity
- 1.192
- Dynamic viscosity
- 1.714 cP
- Specific heat
- 3309 J/kg·K
What the numbers tell you
At 20 wt% and 20 °C, aqueous potassium carbonate has a density of about 1190 kg/m³ (1.190 g/cm³) — roughly 1.19× the density of water. It also has a dynamic viscosity of about 1.714 cP, against roughly 1 cP for water at the same temperature, and a specific heat of about 3.31 kJ/kg·K, about 79% of water’s 4.18 kJ/kg·K. Those differences carry straight into volume-to-mass conversions, pump and pipe sizing, and the heat needed to change its temperature.
A few working strengths
Properties at 20 °C for a handful of concentrations in everyday use, read from the committed grid (interpolated between tabulated points where a grade falls between them). The full table follows below.
| wt% K2CO3 | °C | Density kg/m³ | SG | Viscosity cP | Sp. heat J/kg·K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 20 | 1090.9 | 1.093 | 1.268 | 3695 |
| 20 | 20 | 1190.3 | 1.192 | 1.714 | 3309 |
| 30 | 20 | 1298.6 | 1.301 | 2.550 | 2959 |
| 35 | 20 | 1355.7 | 1.358 | 3.273 | 2824 |
How low it protects
Freezing point of the aqueous solution against strength, computed from the same correlation and checked against an independently cited value. A 35 wt% potassium carbonate solution freezes at about −26.7 °C.
| wt% K2CO3 | Freezing point °C |
|---|---|
| 5 | −1.6 |
| 10 | −3.6 |
| 15 | −5.9 |
| 20 | −8.8 |
| 25 | −12.8 |
| 30 | −18.6 |
| 35 | −26.7 |
Freeze check: 20 wt% computed −8.8 °C against a cited −8.8 °C (tolerance ±1.5 °C). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - Concentrative Properties of Aqueous Solutions. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Concentrative Properties of Aqueous Solutions, Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) table: 20.0 mass % at 20 degC, freezing point depression = 8.82 degC (freezing point about -8.8 degC). The CRC freezing-point-depression column agrees with the Melinder freeze curve underlying CoolProp's INCOMP::MKC to within 0.1 degC here.
Where the numbers come from
Every value on this page is computed by a deterministic model — none is entered by hand. The generating method and the references it is checked against:
- ▸Melinder, A. (2010). Properties of Secondary Working Fluids for Indirect Systems, 2nd ed. International Institute of Refrigeration - the basis of CoolProp's incompressible aqueous potassium carbonate (INCOMP::MKC) correlation.
- ▸CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - Concentrative Properties of Aqueous Solutions (density, freezing-point depression and viscosity at 20 degC)
Model: CoolProp==6.6.0 - incompressible aqueous MKC correlation (Melinder 2010) · Generated 2026-06-07
The committed data file for this page is published as JSON on GitHub under CC BY 4.0.
Checked against a cited value
The model is cross-checked at one independently cited reference point. The page is published only because this check passes.
| Property / point | Density · 20 wt% · 20 °C |
| Cited reference value | 1189.8 kg/m3 |
| Model computed | 1190.32 kg/m3 |
| Error vs reference | 0.044% (tolerance 1%) |
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - Concentrative Properties of Aqueous Solutions. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Concentrative Properties of Aqueous Solutions (all data at 20 degC), Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) table: 20.0 mass % at 20 degC = 1.1898 g/cm3. This measured handbook data is independent of the Melinder correlation underlying CoolProp's INCOMP::MKC.
Every tabulated point
Rows are temperature (°C); columns are concentration (wt% K2CO3). Read the cell at the intersection. Specific gravity is density divided by the model water reference of 998.2 kg/m³ at 20 °C.
Cells left blank (—) sit below the solution's freezing point at that strength, where it is no longer liquid; those points are not tabulated and the explorer will not interpolate across them.
| °C \ wt% | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1373.4 |
| -20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1372.3 |
| -15 | — | — | — | — | — | 1312.6 | 1370.9 |
| -10 | — | — | — | — | 1254.9 | 1311.2 | 1369.3 |
| -5 | — | — | 1147.4 | 1199.4 | 1253.5 | 1309.6 | 1367.5 |
| 0 | 1048.2 | 1096.5 | 1146.3 | 1198.0 | 1251.8 | 1307.7 | 1365.4 |
| 5 | 1047.6 | 1095.5 | 1144.9 | 1196.3 | 1250.0 | 1305.7 | 1363.2 |
| 10 | 1046.7 | 1094.2 | 1143.3 | 1194.5 | 1247.9 | 1303.5 | 1360.8 |
| 15 | 1045.5 | 1092.6 | 1141.5 | 1192.5 | 1245.7 | 1301.1 | 1358.3 |
| 20 | 1044.1 | 1090.9 | 1139.5 | 1190.3 | 1243.4 | 1298.6 | 1355.7 |
| 25 | 1042.5 | 1089.0 | 1137.4 | 1188.0 | 1240.9 | 1296.0 | 1353.0 |
| 30 | 1040.7 | 1086.9 | 1135.1 | 1185.6 | 1238.3 | 1293.3 | 1350.3 |
| 35 | 1038.8 | 1084.8 | 1132.8 | 1183.1 | 1235.7 | 1290.5 | 1347.4 |
| 40 | 1036.9 | 1082.7 | 1130.4 | 1180.5 | 1232.9 | 1287.7 | 1344.6 |
| °C \ wt% | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15.66 |
| -20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12.28 |
| -15 | — | — | — | — | — | 7.137 | 9.831 |
| -10 | — | — | — | — | 4.618 | 5.903 | 8.029 |
| -5 | — | — | 2.813 | 3.245 | 3.910 | 4.967 | 6.676 |
| 0 | 1.943 | 2.142 | 2.410 | 2.791 | 3.361 | 4.245 | 5.643 |
| 5 | 1.662 | 1.848 | 2.093 | 2.433 | 2.928 | 3.677 | 4.839 |
| 10 | 1.440 | 1.614 | 1.840 | 2.145 | 2.580 | 3.224 | 4.203 |
| 15 | 1.262 | 1.424 | 1.633 | 1.910 | 2.296 | 2.855 | 3.692 |
| 20 | 1.117 | 1.268 | 1.462 | 1.714 | 2.059 | 2.550 | 3.273 |
| 25 | 0.997 | 1.138 | 1.318 | 1.548 | 1.858 | 2.292 | 2.924 |
| 30 | 0.896 | 1.027 | 1.193 | 1.405 | 1.684 | 2.071 | 2.628 |
| 35 | 0.809 | 0.931 | 1.085 | 1.278 | 1.530 | 1.876 | 2.372 |
| 40 | 0.735 | 0.846 | 0.987 | 1.163 | 1.391 | 1.702 | 2.146 |
| °C \ wt% | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2746 |
| -20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2754 |
| -15 | — | — | — | — | — | 2903 | 2762 |
| -10 | — | — | — | — | 3079 | 2911 | 2770 |
| -5 | — | — | 3457 | 3270 | 3086 | 2918 | 2779 |
| 0 | 3886 | 3660 | 3466 | 3278 | 3094 | 2926 | 2788 |
| 5 | 3890 | 3668 | 3475 | 3286 | 3101 | 2934 | 2797 |
| 10 | 3894 | 3677 | 3484 | 3294 | 3109 | 2942 | 2806 |
| 15 | 3899 | 3686 | 3493 | 3301 | 3116 | 2950 | 2815 |
| 20 | 3905 | 3695 | 3501 | 3309 | 3123 | 2959 | 2824 |
| 25 | 3912 | 3704 | 3510 | 3316 | 3131 | 2967 | 2834 |
| 30 | 3919 | 3712 | 3518 | 3323 | 3138 | 2976 | 2844 |
| 35 | 3926 | 3721 | 3525 | 3330 | 3145 | 2985 | 2854 |
| 40 | 3933 | 3729 | 3532 | 3337 | 3153 | 2994 | 2864 |
Potassium carbonate solution properties at 25 °C
At 25 °C, 10 wt% potassium carbonate has a density of about 1089.0 kg/m³, a dynamic viscosity of about 1.138 cP and a specific heat capacity of about 3704 J/kg·K. At 25 °C, 30 wt% potassium carbonate has a density of about 1296.0 kg/m³, a dynamic viscosity of about 2.292 cP and a specific heat capacity of about 2967 J/kg·K. At 25 °C, 35 wt% potassium carbonate has a density of about 1353.0 kg/m³, a dynamic viscosity of about 2.924 cP and a specific heat capacity of about 2834 J/kg·K.
Before you use these numbers
- ▸CoolProp's incompressible aqueous potassium carbonate correlation (INCOMP::MKC), built on Melinder (2010). Tabulated for 5-35 wt% K2CO3 over -25 to 40 degC. Potassium carbonate brine is a low-corrosion secondary coolant; the Melinder incompressible path is used (over the Laliberte electrolyte correlation) because it carries the freezing line needed for sub-zero service. Each cell sits above the solution's freezing line; cells below it are left blank and the explorer will not interpolate across them. The 35 wt% ceiling stays below saturation (about 53 wt% at 20 degC). Concentrations are anhydrous K2CO3. Values are for preliminary design; verify against vendor data for critical service.
- ▸Values are tabulated only inside the 5–35 wt% and -25–40 °C ranges shown; the correlation is not extrapolated beyond them here.
- ▸Figures are for a pure potassium carbonate–water system. Commercial grades contain impurities (for example chloride in some caustic grades) that shift density and viscosity; check the supplier's data sheet for a specific product.
- ▸Use for preliminary design; verify for critical service.
- Acetic acid CH3COOH
- Aluminium sulfate Al2(SO4)3
- Ammonia solution NH3
- Ammonium chloride NH4Cl
- Ammonium nitrate NH4NO3
- Ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4
- Barium chloride BaCl2
- Calcium chloride CaCl2
- Calcium nitrate Ca(NO3)2
- Copper(II) sulfate CuSO4
- Ethanol C2H5OH
- Ethylene glycol C2H6O2
- Formic acid HCOOH
- Glycerol C3H8O3
- Hydrochloric acid HCl
- Hydrogen peroxide H2O2
- Iron(II) sulfate FeSO4
- Iron(III) chloride FeCl3
- Lithium chloride LiCl
- Magnesium chloride MgCl2
- Magnesium sulfate MgSO4
- Manganese(II) sulfate MnSO4
- Methanol CH3OH
- Nickel sulfate NiSO4
- Nitric acid HNO3
- Phosphoric acid H3PO4
- Potassium chloride KCl
- Potassium hydroxide KOH
- Potassium nitrate KNO3
- Propylene glycol C3H8O2
- Sodium acetate CH3COONa
- Sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3
- Sodium carbonate Na2CO3
- Sodium chloride NaCl
- Sodium hydroxide NaOH
- Sodium nitrate NaNO3
- Sodium sulfate Na2SO4
- Sucrose C12H22O11
- Sulfuric acid H2SO4
- Zinc chloride ZnCl2
- Zinc sulfate ZnSO4
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