The grade of a chemical reflects the level of purity within that chemical. Though there are various chemical grades, each holds a specific set of standards.
Depending on the intended use, the manufacturer must select an appropriate level of purity that is necessary to obtain the desired results. Some business fields may only be required to use low-purity chemicals while others must use those of the highest grade.
The following describes the chemical grades that apply to all chemicals and reagents:
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Technical grade: Contains a slight amount of other chemicals, thus marginally impure but still specified as “good quality.” Possesses high enough purity (around 85-90%) to be used for commercial and industrial purposes, but does not meet the higher standards of food, drug, or medicinal production.
Industrial grade: Also considered technical grade, but often denotes large-scale supply.
Commercial grade: Processed in volume for commerce and industrial use. Purity levels are comparable to that of technical grade chemicals.
below are the magnesium products offered by Garrison Minerals in technical, industrial, and commercial grades
Pharmaceutical grade: Compounds considered to be an active or inactive reagent where a standard of purity (≥99.0%) has been set by the national pharmacopeia. Must be approved or indexed by the Food and Drug Administrative (FDA) or must have been written or established by the United States Pharmacopeia–National Formulary (USP/NF) or British Pharmacopeia (BP).
Food grade: Must be certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) which indicates that the product is safe for consumption.
NF grade: Meets or exceeds distinct requirements of pharmaceutical standards for drug substances. The chemicals must be manufactured under the Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and meet the purity level requirements of the National Formulary (NF). Does not have a strict percentage of purity but is still considered an upper-level intermediate quality chemical.
ACS grade: Meets or exceeds the American Chemical Society (ACS) purity standards of ≥95%. Can be used for general procedures and within the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and medical industries.
USP grade: Meets or exceeds the requirements of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and is equivalent to ACS grade. Considered top-rank quality for laboratory experimentation.
below are the magnesium products offered by Garrison Minerals in the pharmaceutical, food, NF, ACS and USP grades
High Purity grade: Chemicals that are of high quality while having no published standards.
Purified grade: Also called pure or practical grade, which is a lower level of good quality that meets no official standard. It can be used for educational purposes, but is not pure enough to be offered for food, drug, or medicinal use.
Laboratory grade: Has the lowest of purity and is similar to that of purified grade. The laboratory grade does not have a strict percentage of purity but is still considered high quality. Its low cost and solid chemical purity make it most suitable for educational purposes, but is not pure enough to be offered for food, drug, or medicinal use.
Reagent grade: Equal to that of ACS grade. In addition, it is suitable for analytical work and general laboratory use.
Your friends at Garrison Minerals have the knowledge and expertise to answer any chemical grade questions you may have. All of our products have technical data sheets and certificates of analysis that assist in the identification of material grades.
Contact us today to learn more about the various magnesium based chemical grades we offer and what would be best for your desired application.