Name: white granular borax decahydrate for glass manufacturing

Appearance: White Powder or Granular

Grade: Agriculture Grade, Industrial Grade

Specification:

Usage:

Household products

Borax is used in various household laundry and cleaning products, including the "20 Mule Team Borax" laundry booster, "Boraxo" powdered hand soap, and some tooth bleaching formulas.

pH buffer

Borate ions (commonly supplied as boric acid) are used in biochemical and chemical laboratories to make buffers, e.g. for gel electrophoresis of DNA and RNA, such as TBE buffer (borate buffered tris-hydroxymethylaminomethonium) or the newer SB buffer or BBS buffer (borate buffered saline) in coating procedures. Borate buffers (usually at pH 8) are also used as preferential equilibration solution in dimethyl pimelimidate (DMP) based crosslinking reactions.

Co-complexing agent

Borax as a source of borate has been used to take advantage of the co-complexing ability of borate with other agents in water to form complex ions with various substances. Borate and a suitable polymerbed are used to chromatograph non-glycosylated hemoglobin differentially from glycosylated hemoglobin (chiefly HbA1c), which is an indicator of long term hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus.

Water-softening agent

Borax alone does not have a high affinity for the hardness cations, although it has been used for water-softening. Its chemical equation for water-softening is given below:

Ca²⁺ _(aq) + Na₂B₄O_{7 (aq)} → CaB₄O_{7 (s)}↓ + 2 Na⁺ _(aq)

Mg²⁺ _(aq) + Na₂B₄O_{7 (aq)} → MgB₄O_{7 (s)}↓ + 2 Na⁺ _(aq)

The sodium ions introduced do not make water ‘hard’. This method is suitable for removing both temporary and permanent types of hardness.

Flux

A mixture of borax and ammonium chloride is used as a flux when welding iron and steel. It lowers the melting point of the unwanted iron oxide (scale), allowing it to run off. Borax is also used mixed with water as a flux when soldering jewelry metals such as gold or silver. It allows the molten solder to flow evenly over the joint in question. Borax is also a good flux for "pre-tinning" tungsten with zinc – making the tungsten soft-solderable. Borax is often used as a flux for forge welding.

Small-scale gold mining

Borax is replacing mercury as the preferred method for extracting gold in small-scale mining facilities. The method is called the borax method and is used in the Philippines.

Flubber

A rubbery polymer sometimes called Slime, Flubber, 'gluep' or 'glurch' (or erroneously called Silly Putty, which is based on silicone polymers), can be made by cross-linking polyvinyl alcohol with borax. Making flubber from polyvinyl acetate-based glues, such as Elmer's Glue, and borax is a common elementary-science demonstration.

Food additive

Borax, given the E number E285, is used as a food additive in some countries, but is banned in some countries, like the U.S., and Thailand. As a consequence, certain foods, such as caviar, produced for sale in the US contain higher levels of salt to assist preservation. Its use as a cooking ingredient is to add a firm rubbery texture to the food, or as a preservative. In oriental cooking it is mostly used for its texturing properties. In Asia, borax was found to have been added to some Chinese foods like hand-pulled noodles lamian and some rice noodles like shahe fen, kway teow, and chee cheong fun recipes. In Indonesia it is a common, but forbidden, additive to such foods as noodles, bakso (meatballs), and steamed rice. The country's Directorate of Consumer Protection warns of the risk of liver cancer with high consumption over a period of 5–10 years.

Other uses

• Ingredient in enamel glazes
• Component of glass, pottery, and ceramics
• Used as an additive in ceramic slips and glazes to improve fit on wet, greenware, and bisque
• Fire retardant
• Anti-fungal compound for cellulose insulation
• Moth proofing 10% solution for wool
• Pulverized for the prevention of stubborn pests (e.g. German cockroaches) in closets, pipe and cable inlets, wall panelling gaps, and inaccessible locations where ordinary pesticides are undesirable
• Anti-fungal foot soak
• Precursor for sodium perborate monohydrate that is used in detergents, as well as for boric acid and other borates
• Tackifier ingredient in casein, starch and dextrin based adhesives
• Precursor for boric acid, a tackifier ingredient in polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol based adhesives
• Fluoride detoxification
• Treatment for thrush in horses' hooves
• To make indelible ink for dip pens by dissolving shellac into heated borax
• Curing agent for snake skins
• Curing agent for salmon eggs, for use in sport fishing for salmon
• Swimming pool buffering agent to control pH
• Neutron absorber, used in nuclear reactors and spent fuel pools to control reactivity and to shut down a nuclear chain reaction
• As a micronutrient fertilizer to correct boron-deficient soils.
• Preservative in taxidermy
• To clean the brain cavity of a skull for mounting
• To color fires with a green tint
• Was traditionally used to coat dry-cured meats such as hams to protect them from becoming fly-blown during further storage
• Is found in some commercial vitamin supplements
• For stopping car radiator and engine block leaks
• Used by blacksmiths in forge welding
• Used as a woodworm treatment (diluted in water)
• Used in the treatment or prevention of wood rot in classic wood boats