Chemical name: Magnesium Chloride

IUPAC name: Magnesium dichloride

Formula: MgCl₂

Appearance: white or colourless crystalline solid

Uses:

• Magnesium chloride is used for low-temperature de-icing of highways, sidewalks, and parking lots. When highways are treacherous due to icy conditions, magnesium chloride helps to prevent the ice bond, allowing snow plows to clear the roads more efficiently.
• Magnesium chloride is used in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical preparations.
• Magnesium chloride (E511) is an important coagulant used in the preparation of tofu from soy milk.