Page 146 - Chemical and process design handbook

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BORAX

Borax is a hydrated sodium borate mineral (Na B O •10H O, density:
2 4 7 2
1.715). It crystallizes in the monoclinic system, usually in short prismatic
crystals. Borax ranges from colorless through gray, blue to greenish and
has a vitreous to resinous luster of translucent to opaque character. Borax
is a product of evaporation from shallow lakes.
Borax is used in antiseptics and medicines, as a flux in smelting, sol-
dering, and welding operations; as a deoxidizer in nonferrous metals; as a
neutron absorber for atomic energy shields; in rocket fuels; and as
extremely hard, abrasive boron carbide (harder than corundum).

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