Borax Decahydrate

APPLICATION AND BENEFITS

Borax decahydrate is incorporated into many cleaning products as a pH buffering agent. It aids in the emulsification of oils and serves as a gentle abrasive. The product can be added to powdered hand soaps as an effective way to remove medium-to-heavy soils—such as those encountered in industrial operations—yet it is gentle to the skin. Borax decahydrate is often added to formulations that are used to clean hard surfaces (e.g., metals, glass, ceramics), to polishes and waxes, and to industrial institutional cleaning compounds. In laundry detergents, it facilitates the removal of oily soils from fabrics, and it imparts alkalinity, pH buffering, and softening of the wash water. Plus, the product can be used to stabilize enzymes.

Another popular use for borax decahydrate is in cosmetics, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. In contact lens solutions, it is used with boric acid as a gentle cleanser and buffering agent. Borax decahydrate is also used as a cross linking agent to emulsify waxes and other paraffins that form the base for lotions, creams, and ointments.

In the industrial world, aside from its use asa cleaning agent, borax decahydrate is prized for its ability to dissolve metal oxides. This capability is exploited in the recovery of metals such as brass, copper, lead, and zinc from scrap or smelting slag. In ferrous metallurgy, the product is used as a cover flux to prevent oxidation at the surface of the molten ingot. In welding, brazing, and soldering, borax decahydrate is used to cover the metal surfaces, where it excludes air and prevents oxidation.

Speaking of oxidation, borax decahydrate is incorporated in many aqueous systems and water treatment chemicals to help inhibit corrosion. You can also find it used for this purpose in the manufacture of automotive and engine coolant formulations. Aqueous solutions of borax decahydrate have replaced chromates in railroad and other diesel engine coolants. And because borax decahydrate is highly soluble in ethylene glycol, it is especially useful in car antifreeze formulations. It neutralizes the acidic residue that results from the decomposition of ethylene glycol and minimizes the rate of oxidation at the surface of the metal.

Borax decahydrate is also part of the starch adhesive formulation for corrugated paper and paperboard. It is a cross-linking agent in the manufacture of casein-and dextrin-based adhesives, and it greatly improves the tack and green strength of such adhesives by cross linking conjugated hydroxyl groups.

In wire drawing, borax decahydrate neutralizes the residual acid from the pickling stage, and the deposit of the salt remaining on the wire is valuable as a carrier of dry powdered lubricant.

In refractories, the borax decahydrate is used as a stabilizer and bonding agent in specialty abrasives. Borax decahydrate also provides an intermediate-temperature glassy bond before the establishment of the ceramic bond.

Borax decahydrate doesn’t stop there. It’s also used as a flame retardant for cellulosic materials, a buffer and catalyst for organic dyes, a carrier for herbicides, and a degreasing buffer in enameling processes.