Most, if not all products that are marketed as metals stabilization technologies create very high pH conditions in aquifers whereas MgO creates an ideal aquifer condition with a pH of 8–10. Additionally, magnesium, an essential element to most biological systems, is provided to soil and groundwater microbial populations during MgO-assisted metals remediation as an added benefit. Medical
Magnesium oxide is used for relief of heartburn and dyspepsia, as an antacid, magnesium supplement, and as a short-term laxative. It is also used to improve symptoms of indigestion. Side effects of magnesium oxide may include nausea and cramping. In quantities sufficient to obtain a laxative effect, side effects of long-term use include enteroliths resulting in bowel obstruction. Other
As a food additive, it is used as an anticaking agent. It is known to the US Food and Drug Administration for cacao products; canned peas; and frozen dessert. It has an E number of E530. It was historically 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. As a reagent in the installation of the carboxybenzyl (Cbz) group using benzyl chloroformate in EtOAc for the N-protection of amines and amides. 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. Pressed MgO is used as an optical material. It is transparent from 0.3 to 7 μm. The refractive index is 1.72 at 1 μm and the Abbe number is 53.58. It is sometimes known by the Eastman Kodak trademarked name Irtran-5, although this designation is obsolete. Crystalline pure MgO is available commercially and has a small use in infrared optics. MgO is packed in bags around transuranic waste in the disposal cells (panels) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, as a CO2 getter to minimize the complexation of uranium and other actinides by carbonate ions and so to limit the solubility of radionuclides. The use of MgO is preferred to this of CaO as the resulting hydration product (Mg(OH)2) is less soluble and releases less hydration heat. Another advantage is to impose a lower pH value of ~ 10.5 in case of accidental water ingress in the dry salt layers while the more soluble Ca(OH)2 would create a higher pH of 12.5 (strongly alkaline conditions).