The chemical analysis of disodium octaborate in preserved softwoods

Abstract

A method is described for the rapid determination of the boric acid equivalent of disodium octaborate tetrahydrate in the core and cross-section of diffusion treated softwoods such as Baltic redwood, western hemlock and Sitka spruce. A sawcut is made through the sample and the boron-containing compounds are leached from the sawdust with sodium hydroxide solution and determined by the spectrophotometric measurement of the red rosocyanin complex formed between boric acid and curcumin. The standard deviation is ± 0·009 per cent.

The procedure described is particularly suitable for batch analysis of core and cross-section samples.