Sodium Triphosphate (STP)

Sodium Triphosphate (STP), sometimes called STPP or Sodium Tripolyphosphate or (TPP) is an inorganic compound. It is produced on a large scale as a component of many domestic and industrial products, especially detergents.

The majority of STPP is consumed as a component of commercial detergents. It serves as a "builder," industrial jargon for a water softener. In hard water (water that contains high concentrations of Mg2+ and Ca2+), detergents are deactivated. Being a highly charged chelating agent, TPP5− binds to dications tightly and prevents them from interfering with the sulfonate detergent.

In food application, STPP is a preservative for seafood, meats, poultry, and animal feeds. It is common in food production. In foods, it is also used as an emulsifier and to retain moisture.

Other uses include ceramics (increase viscosity of the glazes up to a certain limit), leather tanning (as masking agent and synthetic tanning agent - SYNTAN), anticaking, setting retarders, flame retardants, paper, anticorrosion pigments, textiles, rubber manufacture, fermentation, antifreeze. TPP is used as a polyanion crosslinker in polysaccharide based drug delivery.

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