Benefits for Today’s Industry

The ability of borates to affect alkalinity—and thus to promote the formation of negative charges on fabrics and soils—make U.S. Borax products especially effective at removing soil and helping to prevent it from being redeposited on fabrics. Borates also reduce interfacial tensions between detergent liquors and fatty soils, helping to remove oily soils and stains. Plus, perborates—a form of oxidized borate that contains a peroxide link—are a convenient source of active oxygen, providing non-chlorinated bleaching and stain removal. (Also see Balances alkalinity.)

Borates help to balance acidity and alkalinity—a process known as buffering. This ability has numerous uses, including inhibiting corrosion, water treatment, optimizing color levels in dyeing processes, preventing cracking and pitting during electroplating, achieving correct color balance in photography processing solutions, creating neutral glass for pharmaceutical uses, and more. (See also Removes oil, soil, and other stains.)

Borates react with suitable alcohols and carbohydrates to link them together chemically. As a result, the viscosity of the fluid can be controlled. This effect can produce starch adhesives and affect their flow rates and their ability to retain or repel water. This cross-linking behavior can also be used to produce fluids that are used in oil recovery; to emulsify waxes and paraffins for use in lotions, creams, and ointments; and to reduce glass viscosity during the formation of glass and glazes. (See also Acts as a lubricant.)

Borates can inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi and protect against damage by wood-destroying insects, such as termites. For this reason, borates are widely used to improve the durability of wood and wood-based construction products. They are also used in the formulation of some insecticidal products, as well as to control bacteria and fungi in detergents and personal care items.

Although borides (compounds formed of boron and metallic elements) can be used as effective abrasives, borates are also used to manufacture extremely effective lubricants. For example, borate polyols and polyamines in lubricants form a low-viscosity, resilient film on metal load-bearing surfaces, improving load capacity and protecting against wear and tear. Potassium borates are used in high-pressure lubricants, thanks to their stable dispersion of microspheres. (See also Controls viscosity.)

As a component of borosilicate glass, which contains between 5% and 20% boric oxide, borates improve resistance to thermal shock, increase aqueous durability and mechanical strength, imbue electrical neutrality, and modify the glass structurally to make it resistant to heat and chemicals. Borates can lower melting temperatures to facilitate the production of durable fiberglass, specialty glass, and ceramic glazes—important components in televisions, computers, and mobile device display panels. And borates are used in intumescent coatings for steel. (See also Absorbs infrared light.)

Borates absorb infrared light and radiation. Incorporated into building products, such as insulation fiberglass, borates improve energy efficiency by preventing heat loss through infrared transmission. This effect can also be applied in plastics, coatings, and other materials.

Boron is unique in its ability to capture neutrons, due to the natural presence of the ¹⁰B isotope of boron (~20% natural abundance). This radiation-absorbing effect is used in the shielding, control, and safety of nuclear reactors and in emerging and experimental cancer treatments, in which neutron capture is harnessed to perform effective microsurgery.

Borates are used as fire retardants in cotton batting, wood, and cellulose insulation. Specialized borate compounds, such as zinc borates, are used as fire retardants, char promoters, and smoke suppressant additives in polymers.

Borates make excellent fluxes—a chemical cleaning, flowing, or purifying agent—used to remove oxide impurities from metals and reduce melting points in metallurgy and other applications. When added to steel and aluminum, borates also produce especially hard, corrosion-resistant alloys. Other metallurgical benefits include the production of super-strong magnets and the stabilization of slags.