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Barium Sulphate/Barite

Barium Sulphate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula BaSO4. It is a white crystalline solid, odorless and insoluble in water. It occurs as the mineral barite or in a synthetic form as a precipitated Barium Sulphate - often refered to as Barite

 

Characteristics

  • Synonyms                 :    Barium Sulfate, Baryte, Barite, Blanc fixe

  • Chemical Formula   :     BaSO4

  • CAS Number            :     7727-43-7

  • Molar Weight           :      233.38 g/mol

  • Melting Point           :      1,580°C

  • Boiling Point            :      1,600°C

  • Specific Gravity       :      4.49 g/cm³

  • Barite is chemically stable

  • Barite is insoluble in water and hydrochloric acid.

  • Barite is not magnetic.

  • Barite is non-toxic.

Application:​

  • Drilling Field: The overwhelming majority of the barite that is mined is used by the petroleum industry as a weighting material in the formulation of drilling mud.  Barite increases the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud allowing it to compensate for high-pressure zones experienced during drilling.  The softness of the mineral also prevents it from damaging drilling tools during drilling and enables it to serve as a lubricant.  

  • Medical Industry: An application where many people have heard of barite is within the medical field.  A high-purity form of barite is used in the gastrointestinal tract where its density prevents x-ray penetration, and thus is visible on an x-ray.  The outline of the gastrointestinal tract thus becomes visible allowing the determination of normal and abnormal anatomy.

  • Other Uses: Barite is also used in a wide variety of other applications including plastics, clutch pads, rubber mudflaps, mold release compounds, radiation shielding, television and computer monitors, sound-deadening material in automobiles, traffic cones, brake linings, paint and golf balls.

Barite Classification:

  • Based on the grade, the global market is classified into up to grade 3.9, grade 4.0, grade 4.1, grade 4.2, grade 4.3, above grade 4.3. 

  • The grade determines the purity of barite by measuring the specific gravity of the barite based on the concentration of barium sulfate present in the ore. Different grades have different applications. The grade 4.2 is the major share in the market. 

  • Grade 4.2 barite has a specific gravity gravity of 4.22 g/cm3 and It is used in oil well drilling, and is grey in color.

  • Barite Market by Form (Lumps and Powder) , Color (White & Off-white, Grey, Brown, and Others), Deposit Type (Residual, Bedding, Vein, and Cavity Filling), and End-use Industry (Oil & Drilling, Paints & Coatings, Pharmaceuticals, Rubber & Plastics, Textiles, Adhesives, and Others)

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