DarkroomExperimente
Member
how does one perform a recrystallization?
I'd be worried about the blue-green vomit
how does one perform a recrystallization?
but anyway...how do you recrystallize Borax?
If you mean the part about specified percentage, you don't have a way to keep that from happening to the analytical grade every time you open the container. You have no guarantee that by the time you get the borax to the balance for weighing it will not have become partly the pentahydrate. Your safest course of action for absolute accuracy you seem to think you require would be to specify the pentahydrate, except that it is subject to taking in water from the air and becoming partly the decahydrate.
It is plain that neither you nor PE has read any of several MSDS about borax. In not one of the several I read was it stated to be of high toxicity. The ingestion of as much as a teaspoonful did not require an emergency call or trip to the ER.
Pat, I always check any link that you give. Yes I read those MSDSs as well as one from JT Baker, a chemical supply house. That's what they say. So I ask you, did you read that paper that I linked to in the TSP thread on Borax? Here's a link to my post, (there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Pat, I hope you read it. It quoted a recent paper by the German Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, which review the current literature on borax and human toxicity. I think you will find it very interesting as there seems to be a big uncertainty as to the actual toxicity of borax. Sources vary widely. Acute toxicity does appear to be fairly large, as your MSDS's say, a teaspoon most likely will not outright kill you. From that paper, "No consistent data are available on the lethal dose of boric acid and borax in man (7). The pharmaceutical literature indicates 0.8 to 3.0 g for infants, 5-6 g for small children, 12 to 30 g for adults as the lethal doses after oral intoxication (4, 5)."
But it also goes on to say, "The tolerable upper intake level (UL) established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) from all sources that does not lead to any health risks in conjunction with ongoing ingestion, is 10 mg for an adult per day."
That's quite a difference between 10 mg for an adult vs. 1/8th teaspoon, and I would hope anyone reading this would not attempt ingesting even a small amount like 1/8th teaspoon, even if over the course of the day. Why risk it?
I have seen the list of impurities in the analytical grade that Mick Fagan bought, and the list of impurities in the product spec for Mule Crap is BETTER.
If we make a saturated solution of whatever borax we have, whether it is the 5 mol or the 10 mol or a mixture of the two, the specific gravity of that solution will depend on the borate content, with a small error due to the impurities.
Kirk;
Patrick;
You said originally about TSP :
"Originally Posted by gainer
Well, it is a laxative, but a teaspoon or more taken at one time can kill you. Some say 1/8 teaspoon in a liter of water drunk over the course of a day cures everything from constipation through dandruff to fibromyalgia and beyond. "
Which you then corrected to read:
"Now I see the ambiguity. I should have said I was referring to borax."
My reply, which has been verified is that this practice can cause death in children and a chronic illness in adults called "Borism" which has also been verified. It can also cause death in adults.
These taken together are entirely questionable statements of advice on your part and have prompted the subsequent posts in 2 threads regarding your advice and your understanding of the true nature of MSDS sheets. You have argued to the contrary of all reputable evendence that Borax injestion is rather harmless, when it is, in fact, not harmless at all.
PE
Pat - could you post a link to the product specs of the 20 Mule Team borax - I'm appearantly not smart enough to figure out how to seach the web with Acrobat.
Kirk
I'll go back and find it again and post the link later.
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here. |
PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY: ![]() |