What is Boron?
Boron is a trace mineral originally thought to be only necessary to plants, and not to humans. However, recent research has shown that boron is actually necessary for humans, and that it assists in the metabolic breakdown of minerals and energy within the body. For example, one of the recently discovered facts about boron is that if you are deficient in a certain vitamin or mineral, decreasing the amount of boron will increase the deficiency of the other vitamin or mineral. If there is a deficiency of boron the mineral, there will likely be changes within the glucose and fat levels of the blood. There are always research studies going on to determine how boron affects human health, and some of the recently studied conditions and links have been boron and autism and boron and hormones. There is no recommended daily allowance set for boron, but the consensus is that 1 mg a day is enough to sustain health. It is not a good idea to take any type of boron supplement, since there is no indic
Boron is a compound that occurs in nature. It is often found combined with other substances to form compounds called borates. Common borate compounds include boric acid, salts of borates, and boron oxide. Borates are used mostly to produce glass. They are also used in fire retardants, leather tanning industries, cosmetics, photographic materials, soaps and cleaners, and for highenergy fuel. Some pesticides used for cockroach control and some wood preservatives also contain borates.
Boron is a nonmetallic element with the atomic number 5, identified by the symbol B on the periodic table. There are a number of uses for boron, and like many elements, it appears in various forms which have different potential applications. Pure elemental boron, however, is not found in nature, and it must be chemically extracted. One of the more well known uses for a form of boron is borax, a chemical compound which contains boron. The pure form of boron is black and crystalline in form, and extremely brittle. A more common variant of the element is an amorphous form, which is soft, brown, and crumbly. Boron is often used in metal refining, because it is reactive at high temperatures. Although boron is nonmetallic, it is classified as a metalloid. Metalloids are elements which share certain properties with metals, making them useful in alloys and compounds used to chemically manipulate metals. As is the case with many elements which do not occur naturally in elemental form, it took s
Boron is a naturally occurring element. In nature it is found combined with oxygen and other natural elements forming several different compounds called borates. Borates are widely distributed in nature, being present in the oceans, sedimentary rocks, coal, shale and some soils. The average concentration of boron in rocks varies from 5 mg/kg in basalts to 100 mg/kg in shales. In the ocean, the boron concentration is approximately 4.5 mg/liter. The most important borate products and minerals on the market are borax pentahydrate, borax, sodium perborate, boric acid, colemanite, and ulexite. Boric acid and many borates are soluble, at low levels, in water and in biological fluids such as saliva and blood. When boric acid or borates are dissolved in these liquids, which have a near-neutral pH, the main molecular species present is boric acid with a small amount of borate anion. The amount of borate anion is greater in more alkaline (or higher pH) solutions. Sodium perborate, however, is di
Boron is a naturally occurring element. In the environment, boron is combined with oxygen and other elements in compounds called borates. Borates are widely found in nature, and are present in oceans, sedimentary rocks, coal, shale and some soils. There are several commercially important borates, including borax, boric acid, sodium perborate, and the minerals ulexite and colemanite. Different borates react differently with water. More…
