Production of anhydrous borax from borax pentahydrate

Anhydrous borax is an important compound because it can be used to produce sodium borohydride which is one of the best chemicals that carry hydrogen and releases hydrogen upon hydrolysis. In this study, a prototype furnace for the production of anhydrous borax is designed and manufactured at Eti Mine Works Kırka Borax Managing Administration located at Kırka County of Eskişehir Province in Turkey. In addition, a product processing unit based on the method of powder atomization is designed and manufactured. After manufacturing works, a set of experiments is performed and anhydrous borax is produced. As a result, anhydrous borax (Na2B4O7) is obtained including the following constituents as mass percentages; 68.24% B2O3 and 30.38% Na2O. The difficulties in the post-processing stage are overcome by the use of powder atomization unit and in the mean time, continuity in production is also established.