Coolants & brines

Sodium acetate · CH3COONa

Name: Sodium acetate (CH3COONa) aqueous solution properties
Creator: ProcessConvert
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sodium acetate (CH3COONa) is a brine salt; this page gives computed density, dynamic viscosity and specific heat capacity for aqueous solutions from 5–30 wt% and 0–60 °C.

Values are computed from the Laliberté (2009) aqueous-electrolyte correlation and tabulated over 5–30 wt% and 0–60 °C.

Also known as: Sodium ethanoate, Anhydrous sodium acetate, E262
CAS number: 127-09-3
Tabulated range: 5–30 wt% · 0–60 °C
Properties: Density · Dynamic viscosity · Specific heat capacity · Specific gravity

At 20 wt% · 20 °C

reference snapshot

Density: 1103.2kg/m³
Density: 1.1032g/cm³
Specific gravity: 1.105
Viscosity: 2.634cP
Specific heat: 3658J/kg·K

Explore

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 5–30 wt% and 0–60 °C range, and every number is interpolated from the committed table below — nothing is computed from a chemistry model in your browser.

Interactive explorer

Values are interpolated between the tabulated grid points below — sliders stay within the validated 5–30 wt% and 0–60 °C range.

Concentration18 wt%

Temperature20 °C

Density: 1092.2 kg/m³
Density: 1.0922 g/cm³
Specific gravity: 1.094
Dynamic viscosity: 2.371 cP
Specific heat: 3704 J/kg·K

Density (kg/m³) vs wt% CH3COONa at 20 °C — Sodium acetate.

Why it matters

What the numbers tell you

At 20 wt% and 20 °C, aqueous sodium acetate has a density of about 1103 kg/m³ (1.103 g/cm³) — roughly 1.11× the density of water. It also has a dynamic viscosity of about 2.634 cP, against roughly 1 cP for water at the same temperature, and a specific heat of about 3.66 kJ/kg·K, about 88% 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.

Common grades

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% CH3COONa	°C	Density kg/m³	SG	Viscosity cP	Sp. heat J/kg·K
10	20	1049.2	1.051	1.528	3897
20	20	1103.2	1.105	2.634	3658
30	20	1162.6	1.165	5.115	3444

Sources

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:

▸Laliberte, M. (2009). A Model for Calculating the Heat Capacity of Aqueous Solutions, with Updated Density and Viscosity Data. J. Chem. Eng. Data 54(6), 1725-1760. doi:10.1021/je8008123
▸CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - Concentrative Properties of Aqueous Solutions (density and viscosity at 20 degC)

Model: thermo==0.4.0 (chemicals==1.3.0) - Laliberte 2009 electrolyte correlation · Generated 2026-06-07

The committed data file for this page is published as JSON on GitHub under CC BY 4.0.

Validation

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	1105 kg/m3
Model computed	1103.19 kg/m3
Error vs reference	0.164% (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), Sodium acetate table: 20.0 mass % at 20 degC = 1.1050 g/cm3. This measured handbook data is independent of the Laliberte correlation.

Full tables

Every tabulated point

Rows are temperature (°C); columns are concentration (wt% CH3COONa). Read the cell at the intersection. Specific gravity is density divided by the model water reference of 998.2 kg/m³ at 20 °C.

Density — kg/m³

°C \ wt%	5	10	15	20	25	30
0	1026.0	1051.8	1078.6	1106.6	1136.1	1167.0
5	1026.0	1051.7	1078.4	1106.3	1135.6	1166.4
10	1025.6	1051.2	1077.8	1105.6	1134.7	1165.4
15	1024.8	1050.4	1076.8	1104.5	1133.6	1164.1
20	1023.8	1049.2	1075.6	1103.2	1132.1	1162.6
25	1022.5	1047.9	1074.1	1101.6	1130.5	1160.8
30	1021.0	1046.2	1072.4	1099.8	1128.6	1158.8
35	1019.2	1044.4	1070.5	1097.8	1126.4	1156.6
40	1017.3	1042.4	1068.4	1095.6	1124.2	1154.2
45	1015.2	1040.1	1066.1	1093.2	1121.7	1151.7
50	1012.8	1037.8	1063.6	1090.7	1119.1	1149.0
55	1010.4	1035.2	1061.0	1088.0	1116.3	1146.1
60	1007.8	1032.5	1058.2	1085.2	1113.4	1143.2

Dynamic viscosity — cP (mPa·s)

°C \ wt%	5	10	15	20	25	30
0	2.294	3.070	4.291	6.266	9.553	15.19
5	1.912	2.503	3.409	4.830	7.113	10.88
10	1.623	2.087	2.784	3.849	5.513	8.174
15	1.397	1.772	2.324	3.150	4.409	6.371
20	1.219	1.528	1.976	2.634	3.618	5.115
25	1.075	1.334	1.706	2.242	3.031	4.208
30	0.956	1.178	1.491	1.937	2.583	3.532
35	0.858	1.050	1.318	1.696	2.234	3.014
40	0.776	0.944	1.176	1.500	1.957	2.609
45	0.706	0.854	1.058	1.340	1.732	2.287
50	0.646	0.779	0.959	1.206	1.548	2.025
55	0.594	0.713	0.875	1.094	1.394	1.810
60	0.548	0.657	0.802	0.998	1.265	1.631

Specific heat capacity — J/kg·K

°C \ wt%	5	10	15	20	25	30
0	4030	3868	3724	3594	3474	3363
5	4026	3873	3735	3609	3493	3384
10	4026	3880	3748	3626	3512	3405
15	4028	3889	3761	3643	3531	3426
20	4031	3897	3774	3658	3548	3444
25	4034	3905	3784	3671	3563	3460
30	4037	3911	3793	3682	3575	3472
35	4040	3916	3801	3691	3585	3483
40	4042	3921	3807	3698	3593	3491
45	4044	3925	3811	3703	3599	3497
50	4046	3928	3815	3708	3603	3502
55	4049	3930	3819	3711	3607	3506
60	4051	3933	3822	3714	3610	3509

Typical values

Sodium acetate solution properties at 25 °C

At 25 °C, 10 wt% sodium acetate has a density of about 1047.9 kg/m³, a dynamic viscosity of about 1.334 cP and a specific heat capacity of about 3905 J/kg·K. At 25 °C, 20 wt% sodium acetate has a density of about 1101.6 kg/m³, a dynamic viscosity of about 2.242 cP and a specific heat capacity of about 3671 J/kg·K. At 25 °C, 30 wt% sodium acetate has a density of about 1160.8 kg/m³, a dynamic viscosity of about 4.208 cP and a specific heat capacity of about 3460 J/kg·K.

Limitations

Before you use these numbers

▸Laliberte (2009) aqueous-electrolyte correlation for sodium acetate-water. Tabulated for 5-30 wt% over 0-60 degC, below saturation across the table (sodium acetate is highly soluble). Sodium acetate is a low-corrosion, biodegradable deicer and secondary brine; the Laliberte correlation gives density, viscosity and heat capacity but no freezing point, so the grid is floored at 0 degC and no freezing-point table is shipped (honest omission) rather than computing freeze points from a model that does not provide them. Concentrations are anhydrous sodium acetate; the trihydrate (CH3COONa.3H2O) is 60% anhydrous salt by mass. Values are for preliminary design; verify against vendor data for critical service.
▸Values are tabulated only inside the 5–30 wt% and 0–60 °C ranges shown; the correlation is not extrapolated beyond them here.
▸Figures are for a pure sodium acetate–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.

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