Boric Acid Uses
|
Looking to buy Boric Acid? 0800 542 6672 or click here to BUY BORIC ACID | |
Boric Acid is a naturally occurring material, found in volcanic areas of the world such as Nevada and Tuscany. It presents itself as colourless crystals or a white powder and both dissolve easily in water. As a naturally occurring mineral, Boric Acid is sometimes known as Sassolite.
Boric Acid has a wide range of uses. Domestically, Boric Acid is used in the treatment of insect infestations such as cockroaches, ants, termites, red ants, fleas and silverfish. It works by poisoning the stomachs of the insects and altering their metabolism. In dry powder form, Boric Acid is abrasive to the insects exoskeleton.
Homemade ‘ant bait’ can be made by soaking cotton wool balls in a solution of 1 teaspoon powdered Boric Acid, 10 teaspoons sugar and 2 cups of water. The sugar content of the wet cotton wool balls attracts ants, who eat the solution and take it back to their nests. This is an effective way of causing dehydration in the ants metabolism and potentially destroying an entire ant colony. Boric Acid is considered to be a safer alternative to humans than many other insecticides.
Boric Acid is also used to treat wet and dry rot in timbers, and particularly when mixed with Ethylene Glycol, can be used to treat external wood against insect and fungal attack. Boric Acid is added to salt in the tanning industry as a cure of cattle hides and skins. The Boric Acid helps to control bacteria and insects in the animal skins.
Boric Acid is also a useful anti-bacterial material and is sometimes used in the treatment of acne. It is also used to treat yeast and fungal infections and as a prevention of athlete’s foot.
In industry, Boric Acid in the form of TBE Buffer is widely used for the electrophoresis of nucleic acids. It is also used in nuclear power plants as a neutron poison to slow down the rate at which fission is occurring. In industry, another use of Boric Acid is in the production of the glass in LCD flat panel displays. Boric Acid is also used in the electroplating industry.
In medicine, Boric Acid can be used as an antiseptic for cuts and minor burns. It is sometimes found in wound dressings and salves. In very dilute form of about 1.5% sterilized water solutions, Boric Acid can be used as an effective eyewash.
One interesting and rather unusual use of Boric Acid is to turn flames ‘green’ in colour. This is done by dissolving Boric Acid in Methanol and is a useful and effective special effect for the film industry, fire jugglers and fire spinners.
For further information on the safe handling of Boric Acid, please refer to the web pages on Boric Acid Hazards and Boric Acid Safety. For further information on how Boric Acid should be packed, labelling and transported, please refer to the pages of this website entitled Boric Acid Packaging, Boric Acid Labelling and Transporting Boric Acid.
http://www.boric-acid.co.uk/boric-acid-uses | Saved Thursday, November 17th, 2011 - 12:07 PM