Sodium Sulfate → Sodium Sulfate

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Reaction Steps

Approximately 710 pounds of this dry particulate mixture of sodium sulfate, sodium tetraborate pentahydrate and sodium bisulfate was slowly poured into the gently stirred water to produce a eutectic composition of 3.8% by weight of sodium sulfate, 0.1% by weight of sodium tetraborate decahydrate (the pentahydrate changed to decahydrate upon dissolution in the water) and 0.5% by weight of sodium bisulfate. This addition yields 1620 gallons or 14,038 pounds of eutectic solution with a liquid density of 1.04. Sodium tetraborate pentahydrate is preferred in the initial powdered form over decahydrate because, as noted previously, pentahydrate is less expensive, lighter in weight and does not cake up in shipment. Once the pentahydrate is in the water the ions gradually become the same as if it had been added in the form of decahydrate or borax. The sodium bisulfate acts as a buffering agent to lower the pH of the water to approximately 4.5.

Provenance & Evidence