Boron borax

Boron does not occur free in nature in minerals, it occurs as borates, for example, kernite. Na2B407.4H2O. and borax. Na2B407. IOH2O there are extensive deposits of these in the USA. Boron can be obtained by heating boron trioxide with magnesium ... 

Boron trioxide is not particularly soluble in water but it slowly dissolves to form both dioxo(HB02)(meta) and trioxo(H3B03) (ortho) boric acids. It is a dimorphous oxide and exists as either a glassy or a crystalline solid. Boron trioxide is an acidic oxide and combines with metal oxides and hydroxides to form borates, some of which have characteristic colours—a fact utilised in analysis as the "borax bead test , cf alumina p. 150. Boric acid. H3BO3. properly called trioxoboric acid, may be prepared by adding excess hydrochloric or sulphuric acid to a hot saturated solution of borax, sodium heptaoxotetraborate, Na2B407, when the only moderately soluble boric acid separates as white flaky crystals on cooling. Boric acid is a very weak monobasic acid it is, in fact, a Lewis acid since its acidity is due to an initial acceptance of a lone pair of electrons from water rather than direct proton donation as in the case of Lowry-Bronsted acids, i.e. 

Important sources of boron are ore rasorite (kernite) and tincal (borax ore). Both of these ores are found in the Mojave Desert. Tincal is the most important source of boron from the Mojave. Extensive borax deposits are also found in Turkey. 

Boric acid is also an important boron compound with major markets in textile products. Use of borax as a mild antiseptic is minor in terms of dollars and tons. Boron compounds are also extensively used in the manufacture of borosilicate glasses. Other boron compounds show promise in treating arthritis. 

Boron. The principal materials used are borax [1303-96-4] sodium pentaborate, sodium tetraborate, partially dehydrated borates, boric acid [10043-35-3] and boron frits. Soil appHcation rates of boron for vegetable crops and alfalfa are usually in the range of 0.5—3 kg/hm. Lower rates are used for more sensitive crops. Both soil and foHar appHcation are practiced but soil appHcations remain effective longer. Boron toxicity is not often observed in field appHcations (see Boron compounds). 

Manufacture. Boron trifluoride is prepared by the reaction of a boron-containing material and a fluorine-containing substance in the presence of an acid. The traditional method used borax, fluorspar, and sulfuric acid. 

Lead borate moaohydrate [14720-53-7] (lead metaborate), Pb(B02)2 H20, mol wt 310.82, d = 5.6g/cm (anhydrous) is a white crystalline powder. The metaborate loses water of crystallization at 160°C and melts at 500°C. It is iasoluble ia water and alkaHes, but readily soluble ia nitric and hot acetic acid. Lead metaborate may be produced by a fusion of boric acid with lead carbonate or litharge. It also may be formed as a precipitate when a concentrated solution of lead nitrate is mixed with an excess of borax. The oxides of lead and boron are miscible and form clear lead-borate glasses in the range of 21 to 73 mol % PbO. 

Inorganic Esters. Boric acid and borax form cycHc esters with poly(vinyl alcohol) (85—100). The reaction is markedly sensitive to pH, boric acid concentration, and the cation-to-boron ratio. An insoluble gel is formed at pH above 4.5—5.0 ... 

Production from sodium borate ores takes place in the United States, Turkey, and Argentina. AH U.S. production based on sodium borate ores is from the United States Borax Chemical Corp. in Boron, California. Turkish mining of tincal takes place at Kirka. This operation is under the control of the Turkish government and its representative, Etibank. Argentine production is carried out at Tincalayu, primarily by Boroquimica Samicaf. 

Decahydrate, Pentahydrate, and Anhydrous Borax and Bulk Calcium Borates. The bulk borate products, borax decahydrate and pentahydrate, anhydrous borax, boric acid and oxide, and upgraded colemanite and ulexite, account in both toimage and monetary terms for over 99% of sales of the boron primary products industry (6). Economic considerations for all these products are highly interrelated, and most production and trade statistics do not distinguish the various products. 

Boron Trichloride. Boron trichloride is prepared on a large scale by the reaction of CI2 and a heated mixture of borax [1303-96-4] ... 

Na2B0402 10H2O, and cmde oil residue (41) in a rotary kiln heated to 1038°C. Borax is fed at the rate of 1360 kg/h and sprayed with 635 kg/h of 17% residue cmde oil. The heated mixture then reacts with CI2 at 760°C in a separate reactor to yield BCl. On a smaller scale, BCl can be prepared by the reaction of CI2 and a mixture of boron oxide [1303-86-2] 2 3 coke, and lampblack in a fluidized bed (42). Other methods for the preparation... 

Boron Hydrides" under "Boron Compounds" in ECT 1st ed., Vol. 2, pp. 593—600, by S. H. Bauer, Cornell University "Boron Hydrides and Related Compounds" under "Boron Compounds," Suppl. 1, pp. 103—130, by S. H. Bauer, Cornell University "Diborane and Higher Boron Hydrides" under "Boron Compounds," Suppl. 2, pp. 109—113, by W. J. Shepherd and E. B. Ayres, Gallery Chemical Company "Boron Hydrides" under "Boron Compounds" in ECT 2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 684—706, by G. W. Campbell, Jr., U.S. Borax Research Corporation "Boron Hydrides and their MetaHo Derivatives" under "Boron Compounds," in ECT 3rd ed., Vol. 4, pp. 135—183, by R. W. Rudolph, The University of Michigan. 

Recovery Process. Boron values are recovered from brine of Seades Lake by North American Chemicals Corp. In one process the brine is heated to remove some water and burkeite. The remaining brine is cooled to remove potassium chloride. This cooled brine is then transferred to another crystallizer where borax pentahydrate, Na2B40y 5H20, precipitates (18). In a separate process, boron is removed by Hquid—Hquid extraction followed by stripping with dilute sulfuric acid (19). Evaporator-crystallizers are used to recover boric acid [10043-35-3] H BO. In a third process, borax is recovered by refrigerating a carbonated brine. 

Economic Aspects and Uses. The principal producers in the United States are U.S. Borax and Chemical Corp., North American Chemicals Co., and American Borate Corp. Their combined aimual capacity in 1989 was reported to be 735,000 metric tons of equivalent boron oxide [1303-86-2], B2O2 (20). Of this toimage, 50% is exported. About 30% of boron compounds are used in glass fiber insulation. Another 30% is used in other type fibers and borosihcate glasses. Boron is also used in soaps and detergents, fire retardants, and agriculture (see Boron compounds). 

Boron, as barium metaborate, is marketed as a mildew preventative for paints (273). Borax is used as a wood preservative, and an organic boron, 2,2 -(l-methyltrimethylenedioxy)-bis(4,4,6-trimethyl)-l,3,2-dioxaborinane (Biobor JF) [14697-50-80] is a biocide for jet fuel (274). Whereas tin metal is used to coat steel cans used as food containers, organic tin in the form of tributyl tin compounds have proven to be powerfiil antimicrobials, and have found use in antifouHng coatings for ship bottoms, paints, and wood preservatives (275). 

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