Biotechnological

Sodium acetate is used as the carbon source for culturing bacteria. Sodium acetate is also useful for increasing yields of DNA isolation by ethanol precipitation.

Industrial

Sodium acetate is used in the textile industry to neutralize sulfuric acid waste streams and also as a photoresist while using aniline dyes. It is also a pickling agent in chrome tanning and helps to impede vulcanization of chloroprene in synthetic rubber production. In processing cotton for disposable cotton pads, sodium acetate is used to eliminate the buildup of static electricity.

Concrete longevity

Sodium acetate is used to mitigate water damage to concrete by acting as a concrete sealant, while also being environmentally benign and cheaper than the commonly used epoxy alternative for sealing concrete against water permeation.^[9]

Food

Sodium acetate may be added to food as a seasoning, sometimes in the form of sodium diacetate, a one-to-one complex of sodium acetate and acetic acid,^[10] given the E-number E262. It is often used to give potato chips a salt and vinegar flavour, and may be used as a substitute for vinegar itself on potato chips as it does not add moisture to the final product.^[11] Sodium acetate (anhydrous) is widely used as a shelf-life extending agent and pH control agent.^[12] It is safe to eat at low concentration.^[13]

Buffer solution

A solution of sodium acetate (a basic salt of acetic acid) and acetic acid can act as a buffer to keep a relatively constant pH level. This is useful especially in biochemical applications where reactions are pH-dependent in a mildly acidic range (pH 4–6).

Heating pad

Sodium acetate is also used in heating pads, hand warmers, and hot ice. A supersaturated solution of sodium acetate in water is supplied with a device to initiate crystallization, a process that releases substantial heat.

Sodium acetate trihydrate crystals melt at 58–58.4 °C (136.4–137.1 °F),^[14][15] dissolving in their water of crystallization^{[citation needed]}. When they are heated past the melting point and subsequently allowed to cool, the aqueous solution becomes supersaturated. This solution is capable of cooling to room temperature without forming crystals. By pressing on a metal disc within the heating pad, a nucleation center is formed, causing the solution to crystallize back into solid sodium acetate trihydrate. The process of crystallization is exothermic.^[16] The latent heat of fusion is about 264–289 kJ/kg.^[14] Unlike some types of heat packs, such as those dependent upon irreversible chemical reactions, a sodium acetate heat pack can be easily reused by immersing the pack in boiling water for a few minutes, until the crystals are completely dissolved, and allowing the pack to slowly cool to room temperature.^[17]