Four boron products, sold on quite different bases. Two are quoted on purity, one on boron content, and one covers several hydrate forms. That is the first thing to get straight before comparing prices.
The short answer. These four are not quoted on the same basis. Boric acid is published at 99.5% min and borax anhydrous at 99% min — those are purity figures for the compound. Di sodium octaborate tetrahydrate is published at 20% Boron, which is an element figure. Sodium tetraborate covers various hydrate forms. Comparing a purity number with an element number as if they were the same thing is the commonest error here.
When a boric acid page says 99.5% min, that is how much of the material is boric acid. It is not how much of the material is boron. When the DSOTB page says 20% Boron, that is the element. The two figures answer different questions, and a quotation that puts them side by side without saying which is which is misleading even when every number in it is true.
So the first question to ask a boron supplier is not the price. It is: is that figure the compound or the element? Ask us the same question and we will answer it against the product page.
| Product | Formula | Grade published | Standard packing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boric Acid | H₃BO₃ | 99.5% min | 50 kg net, HDPE bag |
| Borax Anhydrous | Na₂B₄O₇ | 99% min | 50 kg net, HDPE bag |
| Sodium Tetraborate | Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O | Various hydrate forms | 50 kg net, HDPE bag |
| Di Sodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate | Na₂B₈O₁₃·4H₂O | 20% Boron | 50 kg net, HDPE bag |
Every grade in this table is the figure published on that product’s own page on this site. Nothing is estimated. The guaranteed analysis on the product page and the batch certificate of analysis govern any supply.
Our sodium tetraborate page publishes ‘various hydrate forms’ rather than a single grade, because the material is supplied in more than one. That is an honest statement of the position rather than an omission: which hydrate you receive changes the boron content, so it has to be fixed at the point of enquiry, not assumed. Tell us which form you need, or tell us the boron content you are working to, and we will confirm what we can supply.
Where two products carry the same element at different strengths, the price per kilogram of bag is not a comparison. Divide the delivered price per kilogram by the element fraction and you get the cost per kilogram of the thing you are actually buying. That is the only basis on which grades of different strength can be set against each other.
Our nutrient cost comparison calculator does that arithmetic on any two products in our range and prints its working, and the element content calculator converts between kilograms of product and kilograms of the element. Freight follows the same logic: moving a weaker grade means paying to move more material that is not the element.
That is decided by your process, and by things we cannot see from here: how the product is applied, what it is blended with, what has to dissolve and how fast, the specification you or your customer must meet, and how far the material travels. Any supplier who answers that question without asking about your process is guessing.
We manufacture the alternatives set out above, so we have no reason to steer you toward the dearer one. Describe the application and we will tell you what we would send and why, including when the cheaper grade is the right answer.
Four things let us price these products without a round of questions: the grade, the quantity, the delivery location, and any specification you have to meet. Send those and we come back with a price, the packing, and the documents that travel with the consignment. There is more detail on what to send us for a quote.
Know what you need already? Send the grade, the quantity and the delivery location and we will quote against them.
Send the grade, the quantity and the delivery location and we will quote against them.