SODIUM SULFATE DECAHYDRATE

Sodium sulfate decahydrate, also called Glauber's salt is chemically very stable, and is unreactive toward most oxidizing or reducing agents at normal temperatures. It is a neutral salt and will form aqueous solutions with a ph of ~7. The decahydrate is the most abundant natural form and is derived from the mineral, mirabilite, often found in lake beds; anhydrous sodium sulfate occurs in arid environments as the mineral thenardite. Sodium sulfate has been used in the laboratory for protein precipitation. In the 17th century, Dutch/German chemist and apothecary Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604–1670), who discovered the hydrate of sodium sulfate in Austrian spring water; he named it sal mirabilis (miraculous salt) for it's medicinal properties.