Difference Between Borax and Boric Powder

The key difference between borax and boric powder is that borax is a naturally occurring mineral, whereas boric powder is produced industrially from borax.

Borax and boric powder are inorganic chemical compounds of the boron chemical element. Borax contains sodium, boron, hydrogen and oxygen atoms while boric powder contains boron, hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Borax
3. What is Boric Powder
4. Side by Side Comparison – Borax vs Boric Powder in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Borax?

Borax is the common name for either anhydrous or hydrated forms of sodium borate. We can observe this compound as a salt of boric acid. The general chemical formula of this compound is Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O. This formula has ten water molecules associated with the sodium borate molecule because the name borax is usually used for the decahydrate form of sodium borate. This substance appears as a white solid. The molar mass of this compound is 381.38 g/mol. It easily converts into boric acid.

Difference Between Borax and Boric Powder

Figure 01: Complex

Further, we can use this compound (decahydrate form) as a primary standard for titrimetric analysis. That is because this compound is sufficiently stable and pure for that purpose. Borax naturally occurs in evaporite deposits produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes.

There are many different uses of borax including the use of this substance as an ingredient in laundry products and in cleaning agents, in making buffer solutions, in forming complexes with various other substances, in water-softening, and for the extraction of gold in small scale gold mining processes, etc.

What is Boric Powder?

Boric powder is the common term for boric acid, which usually appears as a white coloured powder. It is also named as hydrogen borate, boracic acid, and as orthoboric acid. It is a weak and monobasic Lewis acid of the chemical element boron. Monobasic means this substance can release only one proton per molecule in an acidic medium; however, some of its behaviours suggest that it can be tribasic as well. The chemical formula of this compound is H3BO3. In its mineral form from which it is derived, boric powder is named as sassolite.

Figure 02: Boric Powder

We can prepare boric acid by the reaction between borax and mineral acids such as HCl acid. It is also formed as a byproduct of the hydrolysis process of boron trihalide and diborane. Usually, boric powder is water-soluble, specifically in boiling water. However, above 170 Celsius degrees, this substance tends to dehydrate, forming metaboric acid or HBO2.

There are many different uses of boric powder including the manufacture of monofilament fibreglass or textile fibreglass, to reduce surface oxidation in the jewellery industry, as an in gradient in the electroplating process, as an antiseptic substance, as an ingredient in insecticides, in flame retardants, as a neutron absorber, and as a precursor to other chemical compounds.

What is the Difference Between Borax and Boric Powder?

Borax and boric powder are inorganic chemical compounds of boron chemical element. The key difference between borax and boric powder is that borax is a naturally occurring mineral whereas boric powder is produced industrially from borax.

Borax is as an ingredient in laundry products, cleaning agents, and in making buffer solutions. Its some of the other uses are in forming complexes with various other substances, in water-softening, and for the extraction of gold in small scale gold mining processes. Boric, on the other hand, is used in the manufacture of monofilament fibreglass or textile fibreglass, to reduce surface oxidation in the jewellery industry, as an in gradient in the electroplating process, as an antiseptic substance, as an ingredient in insecticides, in flame retardants, as a neutron absorber, and as a precursor to other chemical compounds.

Below is a summary tabulation of the difference between borax and boric powder.

Summary – Borax vs Boric Powder

Borax and boric powder are inorganic chemical compounds of the chemical element boron. The key difference between borax and boric powder is that borax is a naturally occurring mineral, whereas boric powder is produced industrially from borax.