Borax of the Mules

[Photo Engineer]

Borax is mined directly from huge deposits in the US, mainly in the southwest. Depending on application and "relative" purity, it is shipped directly to market in appropriate packaging.

PE

 

[jsmithphoto1]

I use the 20 Mule Team stuff w/o problems, but do a search here for a very long and entertaining thread on borax (called "Mule Crap") and you'll see many hairs being split.

From what I gather, 20 MT is NOT the purest grade of borax you can get, but use what works for you.

Well, I did a little research and came across a page that stated it was 99.5% pure, which is good enough for a simple black-and-white developer. To me, it is no different than mixing with tap water. However, there is that .5% of "whatever." But the average home mixer really shouldn't see much of an ordeal, because it's not the easiest and quickest thing in the world to mix each chemical out per hundredth of a gram, right?

 

[Photo Engineer]

What if that 0.5% is Bromide or worse yet, Iodide?

PE

 

[jsmithphoto1]

What if? I'm curious now! If it were iodide, would it not act as a starter?

 

[Ronald Moravec]

Been using 20 Mule for decades without issue.

 

[jsmithphoto1]

I've never had an issue... that I've noticed. Now, thanks to PE, I'm questioning my existence

 

[Photo Engineer]

What if? I'm curious now! If it were iodide, would it not act as a starter?

What?????

Anyhow, it works until it does not. It works until you have a direct comparison.

PE

 

[jsmithphoto1]

XD wow that was way out there, huh? Well, in a way, what would be the difference in iodide in the developer from the borax compared to iodide mixing into the developer from the emulsion? Even the E-6 first developer starters and b&w reversal starters are sodium bromide. What exactly would the issue be if there were bromide or iodide in the borax? Forgive me if this is a silly question.

Yes, that is very true!

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Years ago I received a pamphlet from US Borax (the supplier of Twenty Mule Team borax at the time). It listed a purity of > 99.5%, the major impurities being sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, sodium phosphate, and various silicates. So no bromide, no iodide.

 

[Ian Grant]

What if? I'm curious now! If it were iodide, would it not act as a starter?

Well some companies added Bromide to their versions of ID-11/D76. one added Benzotriazole. and Kodak themselves added Potassium Iodide to one variant of D76. This was at a time when the major use of ID-11/D76 was in replenished systems and the bromide etc acted as a starter.

Back in the late 70's/early 80's I shared a deep tank system with two other commercial photographers and none of us liked using freshly made up ID-11, there was quite a definite change for the better as it ripened, this was of course due to the build up of Bromide and Iodide. So if Borax did contain small amounts of Bromide or Iodide there would be little if any detrimental effect, but neither are present in Borax.

Years ago I received a pamphlet from US Borax (the supplier of Twenty Mule Team borax at the time). It listed a purity of > 99.5%, the major impurities being sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, sodium phosphate, and various silicates. So no bromide, no iodide.

The specifications for Photographic grade borax are an assay of 99.5% purity and maximum levels of Iron (as Fe) 0.003% and heavy metals (as Pb) o.002% both by weight. there's no restriction on Chloride, Bicarbonate or Carbonate content which make up the less than 0.5% impurities, so that matches your pamphlet Gerald.

Ian

 

[Murray Kelly]

For some old history look at Pat Gainer's Borax project
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
and
http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Rodinal/rodinal.html
for a comment on Rodinal at Borax pH levels.

 

[jsmithphoto1]

Ian, that's what I was thinking. And yes, I love using replenished D76. Things are better. It's interesting how silver will begin to plate the container after sitting for a couple days!

 

[Photo Engineer]

XD wow that was way out there, huh? Well, in a way, what would be the difference in iodide in the developer from the borax compared to iodide mixing into the developer from the emulsion? Even the E-6 first developer starters and b&w reversal starters are sodium bromide. What exactly would the issue be if there were bromide or iodide in the borax? Forgive me if this is a silly question.

Yes, that is very true!

While it is true that seasoning changes the action of a developer for the better (in most cases), an excess of any halide can cause problems. One big one is the repression of edge effects during development. Usually, Iodide release causes large edge effects if released during development, but less so if Iodide is already present in an excess. This is mainly true of Bromide or low Bromide emulsions. Modern Kodak, Fuji and Ilford emulsions can go as high as 10%.

So, the answer actually is: Depending on the film, the action of impurities will vary. This includes all of those noted above.

PE

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Halide contamination of various ores usually occurs due to formation of the ore from seawater. Borax deposits were formed from fresh water and volcanic activity. Various thermal springs show a high concentration of borates among other chemicals. So the occurrence of halides (specifically bromide and iodide) in borax would be very small. Sodium chloride is ubiquitous in Earth's crust and so is a very common contaminant of just about everything.