Uses
Melamine is combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a very durable thermosetting plastic used in Formica™, melamine dinnerware, laminate flooring and dry erase boards.
Melamine foam is used as insulation, soundproofing material and in polymeric cleaning products, such as Magic Eraser™.
Melamine is one of the major components in Pigment Yellow 150, a colorant in inks and plastics.
Melamine also enters the fabrication of melamine poly-sulfonate used as superplasticizer for making high-resistance concrete. Sulfonated melamine formaldehyde (SMF) is a polymer used as cement admixture to reduce the water content in concrete while increasing the fluidity and the workability of the mix during its handling and pouring. It results in concrete with a lower porosity and a higher mechanical strength, exhibiting an improved resistance to aggressive environments and a longer life-time.
The use of melamine as fertilizer for crops had been envisaged during the '50s and '60s because of its high nitrogen content (2/3). However, melamine is much more expensive to produce than are other common nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea. To be effective as a fertilizer, it is essential that the plant nutrients are released or made available in a manner that matches the needs of the growing crop. The nitrogen mineralization process for melamine is extremely slow, making this product both economically and scientifically impractical for use as a fertilizer.
Melamine and its salts are used as fire-retardant additives in paints, plastics, and paper.
Melamine derivatives of arsenical drugs are potentially important in the treatment of African trypanosomiasis.
Melamine use as non-protein nitrogen (NPN) for cattle was described in a 1958 patent. In 1978, however, a study concluded that melamine "may not be an acceptable non-protein N source for ruminants" because its hydrolysis in cattle is slower and less complete than other nitrogen sources such as cottonseed meal and urea.
Melamine is sometimes illegally added to food products in order to increase the apparent protein content. Standard tests, such as the Kjeldahl and Dumas tests, estimate protein levels by measuring the nitrogen content, so they can be misled by adding nitrogen-rich compounds such as melamine.There is an instrument (SPRINT) developed by the company CEM Corp that allows the determination of protein content directly in some applications; this cannot be fooled by adding melamine in the sample
Melamine is also used as a nitrogen and carbon source for N-doped carbon nanotube. N-CNT's can be prepared via Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method by pyrolysizing melamine under an Ar atmosphere in a horizontal glass tube. A thin film of iron (5 nm) is first deposited on a Si/SiO2 wafer. N-CNT synthesis occurs at a furnace temperatures between 800 - 980oC.
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