Sodium Metasilicate for Industrial Cleaning Builders

Formulators of heavy-duty degreasers, bottle-wash chemicals and institutional cleaning products use sodium metasilicate as the alkaline builder that carries buffering capacity into the wash. What decides the grade is rarely purity alone — it is the soil being removed, the working temperature and concentration, how fast the material has to dissolve at the mixing tank, and how much dust the plant will tolerate at the charging point.

Updated September 23, 2026

Short answer

Granules are the usual starting point for industrial and institutional cleaner formulations: free-flowing, lower dust at the charging point and predictable in automated blending. Anhydrous suits concentrates where water content in the dry blend has to stay low and a high active per kilogram matters. What decides the grade is rarely purity — it is the soil being removed, the working temperature and concentration, how fast the material must dissolve at the mixing tank, and how much dust the plant will tolerate. Zhongzhi Chemical supplies both grades from China at SiO₂ ≥45.0%, with COA, SDS and REACH documentation.

How Sodium Metasilicate Is Used

Alkaline builder and buffer in heavy-duty degreaser concentrates
Caustic-reduced alkaline cleaner formulations where a milder alkalinity profile is wanted
Bottle-wash and CIP chemical packages for beverage and food-plant equipment
Institutional and janitorial powder cleaners blended on automated lines
Soil emulsification and deflocculation support alongside the surfactant package

Benefits for This Industry

Granules and anhydrous grades both available, so form can follow the dosing method rather than forcing the plant to adapt
Granule form reduces airborne dust at the charging point compared with milled powder — relevant where operator exposure is assessed by EHS
Iron and water-insoluble matter controlled to the grade specification, so a batch does not introduce residue into the finished cleaner
Current-version SDS, TDS and batch COA supplied with every shipment for EHS and supplier-approval files
Direct from the plant, so a formulation question reaches someone who can answer it rather than a trading desk

How Our Sodium Metasilicate Supports This Application

Formulation need	Product feature	Value to your line
Lower dust at the charging point	Free-flowing granules versus milled powder	Less airborne dust where operator exposure is assessed by EHS
High active in a low-moisture concentrate	Anhydrous grade, low water content	More active per kilogram in dry-blend concentrates
Buffered alkalinity to lift oily soils	Strong alkalinity with buffering capacity	Carries alkalinity into the wash to emulsify oils and greases
No residue in the finished cleaner	Iron and water-insoluble matter controlled to grade	A batch does not introduce residue into the product
EHS and supplier-approval files	Current-version SDS, TDS and batch COA	Documentation ready for EHS review with every shipment

Blending and dosing hoppers on the production line.

Batch samples analysed in the quality-control laboratory — Batch samples analysed before release against the grade spec.

Finished goods staged as FIBC jumbo bags in the warehouse — Finished goods staged as 1,000 kg FIBC jumbo bags.

What We Need to Confirm Before Recommending a Grade

Grade selection for this application depends on your process, not on a catalogue number. Send these conditions with your enquiry and the recommendation comes back with the reasoning attached.

Soil and substrate: What is being cleaned — mineral oil, animal fat, carbonised soil, protein — and what the surface is made of.
Working temperature and concentration: Bath or spray temperature and the in-use dilution, which together set the alkalinity you actually need.
Target pH and role in the formula: Whether metasilicate is the primary alkali source, a buffer, or one builder among several.
Dissolution requirement: How long the mixing tank can take to clear. Powder dissolves faster; granules dissolve more slowly but handle better.
Dust and handling limits: Whether charging is manual or enclosed, and what your EHS assessment allows for airborne dust.
Trial and scale-up volume: Laboratory sample quantity, first production batch size and expected monthly volume once the formula is approved.

What this page does not claim

Performance in your formulation is established by your own trial, not by a supplier page. These are the limits we hold to.

We do not quote a soil-removal rate, foam profile or cleaning efficiency for your formulation — those come from your own application testing.
Granules are lower in dust than milled powder. That is not the same as dust-free, and it does not replace enclosed charging or PPE.
No food-contact, disinfectant or biocidal claim is made for this product.
Compatibility with your surfactant package and sequestrants has to be confirmed in your own bench trial before scale-up.

Granules are the usual starting point for industrial cleaning: free-flowing, lower dust at the charging point, and predictable in automated blending. Anhydrous suits concentrates where water content in the dry blend has to stay low and a higher active per kilogram is wanted. Send the soil, temperature and target pH and we will say which one to trial first — and why.

Confirm grade, monthly quantity, packing, destination port and buyer type on the RFQ form.

Ready to RFQ for I&I cleaning

Application pre-set to industrial cleaning when possible — add grade, monthly MT, packing and port.

Grade
Monthly quantity (MT)
Packing
Destination port
Documents needed

Request quote Open anhydrous product Metal degreasing

FAQ

Granules or powder for a heavy-duty degreaser?

Powder dissolves faster, which matters if your mixing cycle is short. Granules flow better, bridge less in hoppers and raise far less dust at the charging point. Most industrial cleaning formulators start with granules unless dissolution speed is the binding constraint — tell us your mixing time and we will confirm.

Can I switch from pentahydrate to anhydrous at the same dose?

No. The two forms differ in crystal water, so a kilogram of anhydrous carries substantially more active than a kilogram of pentahydrate. Recalculate on measured active content rather than substituting one-for-one by weight, then re-verify pH and performance before you release the reformulated batch.

Will it attack the equipment or the surfaces being cleaned?

Sodium metasilicate is strongly alkaline and is corrosive in concentrate — handle it per the SDS. Aluminium and some non-ferrous metals are sensitive to strong alkali, so substrate compatibility must be established for your bath conditions rather than assumed. Send the substrate list and working conditions and we will flag what needs testing.

Which documents can you supply for our EHS review?

Current-version SDS, TDS, batch-specific COA, and ISO 9001 / ISO 14001 and REACH documentation. Confirm at the RFQ stage that batch COA is required on every recurring shipment, not only on the first order, so the document version stays aligned with what your file expects.

How is it dissolved without forming lumps?

Add it slowly into moving water with continuous agitation rather than dumping the bag in at once — a large charge dropped into still water sinters into a hard mass that then takes far longer to disperse. Reseal opened bags; the product is hygroscopic.