Common Uses of Melamine
Melamine resin is produced by combining formaldehyde with melamine. Because of its durability, melamine resin is used to make thermosetting plastic and melamine foam, a polymeric cleaning product. Countertops, dry erase boards, fabrics, glues, house wares and flame retardants are all made with melamine resin. Melamine is also used to make inks and plastics.
Melamine is also an ingredient in high resistance concrete. The concrete is less porous than other substances and has the strength to withstand harsh weather conditions over a longer period of time.
The early use of melamine as fertilizer for crops showed that the chemical reactions transferring nitrogen to the soil was too slow a process to be of any economic benefit in agriculture.
Melamine derivatives are used for medical purposes, in extreme cases such as the treatment of African trypanosomiasis.
It is illegal to add melamine to food products in order to exaggerate the protein content. There are standard tests used to measure the amount of protein present by measuring the nitrogen content. But the results are skewed by nitrogen-rich compounds such as melamine.
