Product Overview
Magnesium Hydroxide Technical (CAS 1309-42-8) is an odorless, practically water-insoluble solid base we stock and ship from our Taylor, TX warehouse. It is the workhorse alkali for buyers who need acid-neutralizing capacity without the handling burden of caustic soda or lime: wastewater operators dosing for pH control, compounders loading flame-retardant filler into plastics, and process operators neutralizing acid streams in chemical manufacturing. It is the same compound known in other contexts as milk of magnesia, supplied here as a technical-grade solid for industrial use.
Every order ships with a safety data sheet, and lot-specific certificates of analysis are available, so your receiving and QC team can verify the material before it goes into a process.
Why This Concentration
Choose the technical grade when the job is bulk neutralization, filler loading, or pH adjustment — applications where you are buying alkalinity and consistency, not certified trace-metal limits. Technical grade is the cost-effective tier for these uses; if your specification requires tighter impurity control, confirm your acceptance criteria against the certificate of analysis before committing a production run.
The practical advantage of magnesium hydroxide over stronger bases is built into the chemistry. Because it is practically insoluble in water, it releases alkalinity only as acid consumes it. That self-limiting behavior means an overdose does not swing a wastewater stream to a high pH the way sodium hydroxide can. Operators who have chased a pH overshoot with acid after a caustic overdose understand why this matters. The trade-off: reaction is slower than with a dissolved caustic, so size your contact time and mixing accordingly.
Chemical Profile
Magnesium hydroxide carries the formula H2MgO2 — conventionally written Mg(OH)₂ — with a molecular weight of 58.320 and CAS number 1309-42-8. It is an odorless solid, supplied in dry powder and related solid forms, with a density of 2.36 g/mL. It is practically insoluble in water and in ethanol, which is the property that defines its behavior in service: it acts as a suspended, slow-release source of hydroxide rather than a dissolved caustic. The product is not classified as hazardous under GHS based on available data (per the product's GHS classification).
Industrial Applications
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Wastewater pH adjustment. Dosed as a slurry or dry feed to raise pH and neutralize acidic wastewater. Its low solubility caps the achievable pH, which reduces overshoot risk compared with sodium hydroxide and gives operators a wider dosing margin.
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Flame-retardant additive. Compounded into construction materials and polymer systems as a mineral flame retardant. When heated, it decomposes endothermically and releases water, which absorbs heat and dilutes combustion gases in the material.
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Plastics filler. Loaded into plastic formulations as a functional mineral filler, contributing both mechanical modification and flame-retardant behavior in a single additive.
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Neutralizing agent in chemical manufacturing. Used to quench and neutralize acidic process streams and reaction mixtures where a controlled, non-aggressive base is preferred over concentrated caustic.
Handling & Storage
This is one of the easier solids in our warehouse to handle. It carries no signal word and is not classified as hazardous under GHS based on available data (per the product's GHS classification). Standard industrial hygiene still applies: wear gloves and goggles when handling, and control dust when transferring powder.
Store it cool and dry with containers tightly closed. Moisture ingress degrades the handling quality of the powder, and open containers invite contamination. Keep it away from strong acids — it is a base and will react with them, which is precisely why you bought it, but not in storage — and away from strong oxidizing agents. Stored properly, the material is stable.
Hazmat & Shipping
Magnesium Hydroxide Technical is not assigned a UN number, hazard class, or packing group and is not regulated as a hazardous material for transport (per 49 CFR 172.101). That means no hazmat paperwork, no hazmat carrier surcharges, and no receiving restrictions on your end — it ships as standard freight or parcel. We pack solids in sealed, ship-rated containers so the powder arrives dry and intact. Shipping and handling guidance on this page is reviewed by Andre Taki, DOT Hazmat Specialist.
Documentation
A safety data sheet ships with every order, available in English, Spanish, French, and Japanese. A lot-specific certificate of analysis is available so you can tie the material on your dock to actual QC data, and a technical data sheet is available for spec review before you buy.
Why Buy from Alliance Chemical
We are a chemical distributor, and shipping is what we do all day. Orders leave our Taylor, TX warehouse daily — from a 2 lb container for bench trials to 55 lb packs for production dosing. Our packaging and shipping practices are DOT-compliant across our full hazmat catalog, and the same discipline applies to non-regulated products like this one: correct containers, sealed and labeled, with documentation included. You get a real SDS in the language your team needs, a COA tied to your lot, and a supplier who answers questions about the product it actually stocks.