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MAGNESIUM OXIDE

Magnesium oxide (MgO), or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium. Magnesium oxide is produced by the calcination of magnesium carbonate or magnesium hydroxide. MgO is prized as a refractory material, i.e. a solid that is physically and chemically stable at high temperatures. It has two useful attributes: high thermal conductivity and low electrical conductivity. “By far the largest consumer of magnesia worldwide is the refractory industry, which consumed about 56 % of the magnesia in the United States in 2004, the remaining 44 % being used in agricultural, chemical, construction, environmental, and other industrial applications. MgO is used as a basic refractory material for crucibles. MgO is one of the components in Portland cement in dry process plants. Magnesium oxide is used extensively in the soil and groundwater remediation, wastewater treatment, drinking water treatment, air emissions treatment, and waste treatment industries for its acid buffering capacity and related effectiveness in stabilizing dissolved heavy metal species. As a food additive, it is used as an anti-caking agent. It is known to the FDA for cacao products; canned peas; and frozen dessert. It has an E number of E530. It is used as a reference white color in colorimetry, owing to its good diffusing and reflectivity properties. It may be smoked onto the surface of an opaque material to form an integrating sphere. It is used extensively as an electrical insulator in tubular construction heating elements. There are several mesh sizes available and most commonly used ones are 40 and 80 mesh per the American Foundry Society. The extensive use is due to its high dielectric strength and average thermal conductivity. MgO is usually crushed and compacted with minimal airgaps or voids. The electrical heating industry also experimented with aluminium oxide, but it is not used anymore. It is also used as an insulator in heat-resistant electrical cable. MgO doping has been shown to effectively inhibit grain growth in ceramics and improve their fracture toughness by transforming the mechanism of crack growth at nanoscale. Magnesium oxide is used in various applications such as: