V-BOR® Refined Pentahydrate Borax Bulletin 5500

TECHNICAL INFORMATION May 2007

BRAND NAME: THREE ELEPHANT ® V-BOR® Refined Pentahydrate Borax

CHEMICAL NAME: Sodium tetraborate pentahydrate
OTHER NAMES: Borax pentahydrate, sodium biborate pentahydrate
FORMULA: Na2 B4 O7 .5H2 O
MOLECULAR WEIGHT: 291.29
CAS/TSCA NUMBER: 11130-12-4, 12479-04-3, 12045-88-4, 12267-73-1/1330-43-4
DESCRIPTION: White, granular, crystalline solid
GRADES: Standard

PROPERTIES: If you require guidance in developing product specifications, please contact the Quality Assurance Manager
at 760-372-2243.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS SCREEN ANALYSIS (% cum. retained)

TYPICAL STANDARD U.S,.STD TYPICAL STANDARD
RANGE SPECIFICATION SIEVE NO. RANGE SPECIFICATION
MINIMUM MAXIMUM
Pentahydrate Borax (Na2B4O7.5H2O) ----- 101.5 % 103.5 % + 12 0-2% 2.0 % max
Anhydrous Borax (Na2B4O7) ----- 70.1 % 71.5 % + 20 5 - 40 % -----
Boric Oxide (B2O3) ----- 48.5 % 49.5 % + 30 10 - 70 % -----
Sodium Oxide (Na2O) ----- 21.6 % 22.0 % + 40 20 - 90 % -----
Water of Crystallization (H2O) ----- 21.6 % 29.9 % + 100 40 - 99% -----
Chloride (Cl) 100 - 600 ppm ----- 600 ppm
Sulfate (as Na2SO4) 60 - 300 ppm ----- 300 ppm
Iron (Fe) 1 - 15 ppm ----- 15 ppm

ANGLE OF REPOSE, horizontal BULK DENSITY, poured

33 degrees Typical range: 58 - 70lbs/ft 3

Note: All data in the above specification are determined by Searles Valley Minerals analytical methods.

PACKAGING HANDLING
Multiwall Paper Bags: 50 lb, 25 kg Information concerning the handling and use of this product is
Poly bags: 25 kg provided in a material safety data sheet (MSDS). This MSDS
Semi-bulk Bags: 2000 lb and 1000 kg must be fully read and understood prior to any exposure,
Bulk: Trucks and hopper cars handling, or use of the product.

The information herein is believed to be reliable. However, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy or completeness
and none is made as to merchantability of the material or its fitness for any purpose. The manufacturer shall not be liable for
consequential damages or for damage to persons or property resulting from its use. Nothing herein shall be construed as a
recommendation for use in violation of any patent.

PAGE 1 OF 2
THEORETICAL PROPERTIES: The following properties are textbook theoretical data and are provided for convenience and
reference only. These properties are not normally tested for the commercial product and no representation is made relative to the
commercial product.

THEORETICAL COMPOSITION SOLUBILITY IN WATER AS Na 2B4O7.5H2O (V-BOR® )

PERCENT PARTS PERCENT BY POUNDS GRA,MS
Sodium oxide (Na2O) 21.28 PER 100 WEIGHT OF PER U.S. PER
TEMPERATURE PARTS SATURATED GALLON LITER OF
Boric oxide (B2O3) 47.80 o o WATER SOLUTION OF WATER WATER
C F
Water of crystallization (H2O) 30.92
Anhydrous borax (Na2B4O7) 69.08
0 32 1.73 1.71 0.144 17.3
MELTING POINT (not specific) 10 50 2.61 2.55 0.218 26.1
When heated in a closed tube, V-BOR® begins to melt in its 15 59 3.17 3.07 0.264 31.7
o o
own water of crystallization at 128 C (262 F) and is completely 20 68 3.89 3.74 0.324 38.8
fluid at 140 C. Heated in the open, V-BOR® loses its water of
o 25 77 4.75 4.53 0.375 47.4
30 86 5.90 5.57 0.490 58.7
crystallization to complete hydration and fusion at 742.5?C
o 40 104 9.51 8.69 0.787 94.4
(1367 F).
50 122 16.05 13.83 1.322 158.6
o
SPECIFIC GRAVITY @ 25 C 60 140 31.76 24.10 2.598 312.3
1.815 70 158 39.31 28.22 3.204 384.4
o 80 176 51.16 33.85 4.145 497.2
SPECIFIC HEAT @ 25 C 100 212 100.6 50.13 8.037 964.2
96.3 cal/deg-mol 102.7* 217 113.6 53.17 9.076 1086
o * Boiling point
HEAT OF SOLUTION (Absorbed) @ 25 C
–13.03 Kcal/g-mol or –51.71 Btu
o
HEAT OF FORMATION @ 25 C SOLUBILITY IN OTHER SOLVENTS
–1147.8 Kcal/g-mol or –4555.0 Btu PERCENT
o o BY WEIGHT
C ( F)
HEAT OF HYDRATION Ethylene glycol 25 (77) 36.58
–21.4 Kcal/g-mol or –84.9 Btu
Diethylene glycol 25 (77) 14.91
OTHER INFORMATION Glycerol, C.P. 25 (77) 43.58
V-BOR® contains only one-half the water content of Glycerol, 99% 20 (68) 44.97
decahydrate borax. Except for the difference in water of Ethyl alcohol, 50 Vol % 15.5 (59.9) 0.29
hydration, V-BOR® is chemically identical to decahydrate
borax and can be directly substituted for borax in fusion or
solution applications. One weight unit of borax is equivalent o o
pH IN WATER @ 20 C (68 F)
to 0.764 weight units of V-BOR® . At equivalent PERCENT
BY WEIGHT pH
concentrations of the active ingredient, sodium tetraborate,
the properties of solutions or fusion products are chemically 0.1 9.25
and physically identical. 0.5 9.24
V-BOR® , a more concentrated form of borax can result in 1.0 9.24
savings in transportation, handling and storage. Because 100 2.0 9.25
units of decahydrate borax can be replaced by 76.4 units of 3.0 9.29
V-BOR®, freight and other costs can be reduced approximately 3.74 (Saturation) 9.30
25 percent.
Where V-BOR® is substituted for decahydrate borax in dry STABILITY
mixtures, allowance should be made for differences in V-BOR® is the most stable of the hydrates of sodium
o o
volumes and weight. tetraborate; however, at temperatures above 110 C (230 F), it
gradually loses water of crystallization.

Searles Valley Minerals

13200 Main Street, Trona, CA 93562-1995
P.O. Box 367, Trona, CA 93592-0367
Sales/Service: 800-637-2775, 913-344-9500

V-BOR® REFINED PENTAHYDRATE BORAX NO. 5500 PAGE 2 OF 2