Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
SODIUM HYDROXIDE (NaOH)
Commonly known and sold as “caustic soda”
Properties
Pure sodium hydroxide is a white crystalline solid. It
dissolves in water with high evolution of heat and
is a very strong base. It reacts with certain metals
such as aluminum and zinc to produce hydrogen.
Extremely hazardous chemical.
Commercial grades
Sold as a solid in pellet and flake forms in several
purity grades. Commonly used in commerce as a
50% solution in water.
Uses
Chemical manufacture, soaps and detergents,
petroleum, food processing, pulp and paper industry,
water treatment, textile manufacture.
Manufacture
Electrolysis of salt brine:
electrical
current
2NaCl
sodium
chloride
+
2H
2
O
2NaOH
+
H
2
+
Cl
2
chlorine
water
hydrogen
Suppliers
Arch Chemicals, Brown Chemical, Coyne Chemical,
LaRouche Industries, PPG Industries, FMC Corp.,
many others.
Sodium hydroxide
is an important chemical raw material because it
readily forms other chemicals (salts), that are soluble in water. It is a type
of chemical referred to as a base. Bases are compounds, that react with
acids to form water and a salt.
Soap
is a salt made by reacting animal fats with lye, another name for
a solution of sodium hydroxide in water. In the 1800s, the need for soap as
the population expanded created a demand for sodium hydroxide. Thus,
sodium hydroxide was another early product of the chemical industry. Other
washing compounds can be made by treating phosphoric acid (or boric acid)
