Sodium Hydroxide Uses
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Sodium Hydroxide uses are many and varied; Sodium Hydroxide, Caustic Soda or Lye has a great range of uses in industry and is present in many household and industrial cleaning products. Some of the most common Sodium Hydroxide uses are listed below:-
- Using the Bayer Process, where Bauxite is added to a hot solution of Sodium Hydroxide to remove the Alumina as an Aluminium Hydroxide complex. This is then cooled to precipitate the Aluminium Hydroxide; when then heated to more than 1,000 degrees C, the Hydroxide decomposes to Alumina, which is then the starting point for the production of Aluminium.
- In oil drilling, Sodium Hydroxide is used as an additive to the drilling fluid, not only to increase its viscosity, but also to neutralise any acidic gas pockets encoutered during the drilling process.
- Paper Pulp Manufacture, where Sodium Hydroxide is initially used as a solution to separate the cellulose fibres from the lignin, as seen in the Kraft process. Sodium Hydroxide is also used later in the paper making process, where a strongly alkaline environment is necessary.
- In the production of Biodiesel, which is produced by the trans-esterification of Methanol and Triglycerides. Anhydrous Sodium Hydroxide is used as a catalyst for this reaction to take place.
- Sodium Hydryxode is used in many industrial cleaning processes because Sodium Hydroxide readily dissolves oil, fat, grease or protein-based materials. It is used in large scale industrial cleaning processes and to clean process equipment, such as storage tanks. Usually the solution is heated and a surfactant is added to eliminate the dissolved material coming out of solution.
- Sodium Hydroxide uses occur widely in the food industry, not only for product preparation, but also for cooking. Fruit and vegetables can be peeled, cocoa processed, poultry scalded and ice-cream thickened using suitable Sodium Hydroxide solutions. Meanwhile, pretzels, German lye rolls and the Scandanavian Luterfish (lye-fish) all use food grade Sodium Hydroxide in their preparation.
- Sodium Hydroxide uses occur widely in the home. As Caustic, Sodium Hydroxide used to be used as a hair straightener or a 'relaxer' in the hair perming process, but due to the high number of cases of chemical burns, this practice was soon dropped. However, Sodium Hydroxide is still widely used in drain cleaners where it is mixed with chemicals which generate heat when reacting with water. This solution not only saponifies the fat deposits, but will attack and decompose the proteins in hair, which can be a major cause of blocked drains.
http://www.sodium-hydroxide.co.uk/sodium-hydroxide-uses | Saved Thursday, January 28th, 2010 - 4:03 AM