Mainly uses of borax decahydrate powder is glass making enamel

glazes and fertilizer CAS NO1303 96 4

►Product description

1. Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium

tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid.

Powdered borax is white, consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in

water. A number of closely related minerals or chemical compounds that differ in

their crystal water content are referred to as borax, but the word is usually used to

refer to the decahydrate. Commercially sold borax is partially dehydrated.

Borax is a component of many detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. It is

used to make buffer solutions in biochemistry, as a fire retardant, as an anti-fungal

compound, in the manufacture of fiberglass, as a flux in metallurgy, neutron-

capture shields for radioactive sources, a texturing agent in cooking, as a precursor

for other boron compounds, and along with its inverse, boric acid, is useful as an

insecticide.

2. In artisanal gold mining, the borax method is sometimes used as a substitute for

toxic mercury in the gold extraction process. Borax was reportedly used by gold

miners in parts of the Philippines in the 1900s.

Borax was first discovered in dry lake beds in Tibet and was imported via the Silk

Road to the Arabian Peninsula in the 8th Century AD.Borax first came into common

use in the late 19th century when Francis Marion Smith's Pacific Coast Borax

Company began to market .

► Chemistry

The structure of the anion [B4O5(OH)4]2− in borax

The term borax is often used for a number of closely related minerals or chemical

compounds that differ in their crystal water content:

· anhydrous sodium tetraborate, Na2B4O7

· sodium tetraborate pentahydrate, Na2B4O7·5H2O

· setraborate decahydrate, Na2B4O7·10H2O

Borax is generally described as Na2B4O7·10H2O. However, it is better formulated

as Na2[B4O5(OH)4]·8H2O, since borax contains the [B4O5(OH)4]2− ion. In this

structure, there are two four-coordinate boron atoms (two BO4 tetrahedra) and two

three-coordinate boron atoms (two BO3 triangles).

Borax is also easily converted to boric acid and other borates, which have many

applications. Its reaction with hydrochloric acid to form boric acid is:

Na2B4O7·10H2O + 2 HCl → 4 H3BO3 + 2 NaCl + 5 H2O

The "decahydrate" is sufficiently stable to find use as a primary standard for acid

base titrimetry.

When borax is added to a flame, it produces a yellow green color.Borax is not used

for this purpose in fireworks due to the overwhelming yellow color of sodium. Boric

acid is used to color methanol flames a transparent green.

►Details of borax

Borax Decahydrate is the refined form of natural sodium borate. Composed of boric

oxide (B2O3), sodium oxide, and water, it is a mild, alkaline salt, white and

crystalline, with excellent buffering and fluxing properties. Available in powder or

granular form, Borax Decahydrate is an important multifunctional source of B2O3,

particularly for processes in which the simultaneous presence of sodium is

beneficial.

►Specification

►Features

Borax Decahydrate is chemically stable under normal storage conditions. It will

slowly lose water of crystallisation if exposed to a warm, dry atmosphere.

Conversely, exposure to a humid atmosphere can cause recrystallisation at particle

contact points, resulting in caking. When storing the product, care should therefore

be taken to avoid wide fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and to ensure that

the packaging is not damaged. Dissolved in water, Borax Decahydrate hydrolyzes

to give a mildly alkaline solution. It is thus capable of neutralizing acids. It also

combines with strong alkalis to form compounds of lower pH. The relatively

constant pH of Borax Decahydrate solutions makes it an excellent buffering agent.

►Application

1. Ingredient in enamel glazes

2. Component of glass, pottery, and ceramics

3. Used as an additive in ceramic slips and glazes to improve fit on wet,

greenware, and bisque.

4. As a micronutrient fertilizer to correct boron-deficient soils.