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Welcome back to the Borates Today podcast.
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Each week we cover a topic that is relevant to the industry and timely.
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We cover the latest industry news.
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Who are the key players in the sector?
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What are the latest trends, driving demand and supply for boron.
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What is the science behind boron and who's doing valuable research into
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new boron applications and benefits?
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We look at how boron helps in advanced energy, in food security,
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and in providing nutrition.
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So don't forget to check out boron applications and benefits
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on our website borates.today.
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In today's podcast, we're going to look at the differences and similarities
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between borax and baking soda.
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First of all, let's look at baking soda.
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Baking soda is a common household ingredient that can be used for
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many purposes, including cleaning, cooking, preserving, and baking.
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It's also known as sodium bicarbonate or simply bicarb.
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While most people are familiar with its usage around the home,
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it has many health benefits.
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It can be used as a natural antiacid to relieve digestion or heartburn
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and is effective in treating acne and other skin conditions.
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Baking soda is also used to absorb moisture, neutralize,
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odors, and scour surfaces.
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It can make cakes and muffins rise and keep the refrigerator smelling fresh.
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When used correctly, this compound is a safe and effective
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way to clean, cook and bake.
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However, it's important to exercise caution when using this substance as it
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can be an irritant if not used properly.
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Besides its cleaning properties, it's used for pest control.
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it increases the alkalinity of water sources, it's a mild disinfectant.
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a neutralizer for acids and bases, it can be used as a fire
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extinguisher as well as an inhibitor for fungi growth in agriculture.
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It can be used as cattle feed supplement, as an antiseptic for preventing
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infections, and as an ingredient in mouth washes and deodorants.
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The natural mineral of sodium bicarbonate is nahcolite whose deposits can be found
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in Colorado in the green river formation.
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During times of high evaporation within the basin, nahcolite
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was accumulated as beds.
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It is industrially mined just like coal mining using common
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underground mining strategies like bore, drum and long wall mining.
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It is also mined by pumping bored water through nahcolite beds and
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crystallizing the dissolved nahcolites using a cooling crystallization process.
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In contrast, how does borax compare?
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Borax ,also known as sodium tetraborate, is a common name for
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anhydrous or hydrated sodium borate.
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It's commonly used for decahydrate sodium borate.
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And so its chemical formula reflects this.
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Borax, unlike baking soda, is mined rather than manufactured and the vast
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majority of this compound is obtained from dried up lakes in California, in Turkey.
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Borax is an effective cleaning product for the same reasons
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that baking soda is effective.
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It's alkaline and abrasive.
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It can be used to clean drains, clean dishwashers, deodorize
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carpets and eliminate rust stains.
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Besides its cleaning capabilities, borax can be used as a buffering agent
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in swimming pools to control the pH of the water, as a water softening
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agent, for gold extraction in small scale gold mining, as a food additive,
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as an ingredient in enamel glazes.
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a component of glass and ceramics, as a fire retardant and as a flux
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in metal and alloys melting to remove impurities and inhibit oxidation.
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It's also useful for killing weeds and getting rid of pesky
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bugs, such as cockroaches.
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Unrelated to cleaning it's a key ingredient in making slime, a
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hugely popular toy used by kids.
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Natural sources of borax include evaporite deposits formed by the
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frequent evaporation of seasonal lakes.
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Turkey, Boron, California, and Searles Lake, California have the most
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commercially significant deposits.
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Furthermore, borax has been discovered in many other locations throughout the
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Southwest United States, the Atacama desert in Chile, and newly discovered
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deposits in Bolivia, Tibet and Romania.
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Borax can also be synthesized from other boron compounds.
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Can Borax and Baking Soda be Mixed?
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To remove tough set-in stains, borax and baking soda mixture can be a
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helpful cleaning solution to try out.
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This method combines one teaspoon of borax and one teaspoon of baking soda in a bowl.
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Pour half glass of hot water and stir until the ingredients dissolve.
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Then use a sponge or cloth to scrub the paste onto the stain.
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They're also useful to clean laundry.
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In this method, fill the bathtub with warm water and add a mixture of baking
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soda, borax and laundry detergent.
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Allow 30 minutes for your laundry to soak before washing as usual.
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This method is ideal for towels, bedsheets, and other linens, but it
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can also be used cautiously on clothes.
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So, which one is better?
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Since both compounds are alkaline and abrasive, they're both
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effective as cleaning agents.
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However, borax has a relatively high Ph.
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So its slightly tougher.
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But potentially more effective as a cleaning agent.
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It's also antifungal, anti-microbial and anti-bacterial.
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And that's all from Borates Today.
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For more information on borax as a cleaning agent, please
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refer to Borates Today, website.
