Detailed Product Description:

Barium sulfate (or barium sulphate) is a fine white powder.  It is poorly

soluble in water and other traditional solvents but is soluble in concentrated

sulfuric acid.  The mineral barite is composed largely of barium sulfate and is

a common ore of barium.

Grade/Purity:

This is ACS Reagent Grade material with 97.5% minimum purity.  This

grade is intended for high purity commercial and industrial applications and

unlike the similar purity “USP Grade” is not intended for internal or medicinal

applications.

Applications:

Barium sulfate is commonly used as a filler in plastics and adhesives and

as a component of oil well drilling fluid to increase the density.  It is used

in brake linings, anechoic foams and powder coatings.

Barium sulfate mixtures are used as white pigments for paints.  The combination

of barium sulfate and zinc sulfide (ZnS) is called lithopone.  Barium sulfate

itself is called blanc fixe.  It replaced white lead due to the latter's toxicity.

Barium sulfate is also used as a high temperature oxidizer in certain pyrotechnic

formulas, as barium compounds emit a green colored light when burned.  Barium

nitrate is more common in green pyrotechnic formulas, as it contains an oxidizer

while still producing green colored light.

In its USP Grade, Barium sulfate is frequently used clinically as a radio-contrast

agent for X-ray imaging and other diagnostic procedures.  It is most often used

in imaging of the GI tract during what is colloquially known as a “Barium meal.”

It is administered, orally or by enema, as a suspension of fine particles in an

aqueous solution (often with sweetening agents added).  Although barium is a

heavy metal, and its water-soluble compounds are often highly toxic, the extremely

low solubility of barium sulfate protects the patient from absorbing harmful amounts

of the metal.  Barium sulfate is also readily removed from the body, unlike Thorotrast

which it replaced.  Due to the relatively high atomic number (Z = 56) of barium, its

compounds absorb X-rays more strongly than compounds derived from lighter nuclei.

Precautions:

Not generally considered a health risk.  Download, read, and understand

the MSDS before using this substance.

Click here to download MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)

Packaging:

Contents of 200 grams comes packed in 250ml sized wide-mouth

HDPE plastic bottle.