Used as a chelating agent in industrial and laboratory applications to bind metal ions, improving stability and preventing metal-catalyzed degradation in formulations. Commonly applied in water treatment to sequester hardness ions, in detergents to enhance cleaning efficiency, and in cosmetics and personal care products to extend shelf life by inhibiting oxidation. Also utilized in analytical chemistry for metal ion control in buffers and reagents. Its high selectivity for certain divalent and trivalent metals makes it effective in specialized purification and separation processes.