High Content of Boron in Curative Water: From the Spa to Industrial Recovery of Borates? (Poland as a Case Study)

Abstract

Boron minerals are a sought-after raw material. The European Union’s total dependence on imported borates means that this has been a critical material since 2014. Due to the increased use of borates in modern economies, data on the predicted boron demand in the coming years indicate that it may become a critical element on a global scale. Formerly, the high boron content in groundwater was the basis for qualifying it as medicinal water (boric water). Nevertheless, the current information on the potential toxicity of boron and the narrow margin between deficiency and toxicity of boron in the human body has caused a tightening of the limits of this element in water intended for human consumption. For this reason, metaboric acid has lost its position as a specific component of curative waters. However, despite the fact that boron is not currently a specific component of curative waters, it is found in measureable concentrations in Polish medicinal water considered therapeutic based on other valuable specific components. High boron content in curative water may be the cause of the problems in some spas when obtaining certificates confirming the therapeutic properties of waters. Literature data indicate that waters with high boron content (above 25 mg/L) should not be freely available for drinking in pump rooms and other places in health resorts. To identify the situation with Polish health resorts, the content of boron in 248 curative water samples was analyzed. In 154 of these samples, the boron concentration was relatively low and did not exceed 5 mg/L. However, in the remaining 94 samples, the boron content exceeded 5 mg/L, and 38 samples had boron content exceeding 30 mg/L. Ten of the 248 samples of curative water had a boron concentration above 100 mg/L, which may be a potential source of boron for industrial recovery. The highest concentration of boron was noticed in a water sample from the Wysowa health resort and was 187.6 mg/L. Unfortunately, most of water intakes with a high concentration of boron (above 100 mg/L) are low-yielding wells. Based on the data collected, Rabka appears to be the best candidate for small-scale boron production in terms of boron content and water resources values.

A contribution to the understanding of hydrochemical properties of thermo-mineral water on the L’dži locality (eastern part of North Macedonia)

“…Silica-rich waters are used in balneotherapy, for example, in the treatment of tuberculosis, some types of cancer or stomach ulcers, as well as in dermatological problems or bone diseases (Dobrzyński, Exley, 2010;Skrzypczak, 2012;Mika, Korzec, 2015;Gittler et al, 2017;Huang et al, 2018). Boric waters were used in balneotherapy mostly due to their antiseptic properties (Chruszcz-Lipska et al, 2020). Particular attention should also be paid to the high concentrations of arsenic and tungsten in the tested water.…”

Adsorptive Membrane for Boron Removal: Challenges and Future Prospects

“…The natural weathering of soils and rocks releases boron into the water [33]. Currently, the demand for boron has increased due to the active development of modern architecture, which results in the evolution of the electronics, telecommunications (LCD screens), automotive, aviation and energy industries [34]. Boron is widely used in manufacturing fiberglass, detergents and bleaches [30].…”

Boron Recovery from Organic Solutions Used in Brine Treatment through a Water Stream

“…Other studies have focused on recovering boron from various sources such as seawater [16], geothermal waters [17,18], ore [19,20] and tailings [21] employing different solvents and procedures [22][23][24]. Meanwhile, other research has targeted to recovery of lithium from wastewater containing high concentrations of boron or magnesium, using organic solvents [25,26], with the intention of retaining boron in the residue and preventing contamination of the product [27,28].…”