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Caustic Soda

Caustic Soda -

Sodium hydroxide, Chemical compound Ingredients for making soap.


Caustic Soda or Sodium Hydroxide ( NaOH ) is surely being the base which is given as an example for the very first time when we started learning about the bases.

Although its formula and name seems to be quite simple but it is one of the strongest bases whose pH is situated at the rightmost corner of the pH scale i.e., 14 (standard value).

Being so basic in nature, it shows several vigorous reactions with alkali metals, acids (mostly situated towards the left of the pH value of lemon juice), etc.

So it's appreciating properties brought it in the chemical industries as a most commonly used base which has a variety of uses in the chemical-based production industries.


Caustic Soda Uses -

Caustic soda is used for several purposes like it is used in paper industry, soaps and detergents industry, several sodium based salt production uses are also there.

Apart from this, Caustic soda is also used for pH regulation as well as in a special kind of purification process called CAUSTIC WASHING.

Caustic Soda in Paper Industry -


Closeup shot of a woman taking down note in a personal organizer. Business woman is writing in a diary in her office. Blank page to write it on your own message.

Although digitalization has replaced the use of papers to a very significant extent, but still, pen down something on papers or reading your stuff by holding books, has it's own contentment.

So definitely, processing out the papers from its raw materials has always been an appreciating contribution to a large group of readers and writers and the use of caustic soda in this process, shows the invincible aid of Chemical industries to the world full of intellectuals.

Actually papers are made up of Cellulose fibers which are extracted from the woods . But the thing is that it's not easy as picking out the stones from the rice.

So for this purpose, after making out the pulp by cutting woods into small pieces and mixing with hot water to make a slurry, it is then treated with the caustic soda to remove the cellulose fibrers from the pulp ( popularly known as KRAFT PROCESS ) which on further processing gives the papers you required.


Caustic soda is also used for recycling the papers as detaching the inks from the waste paper ( deinking process ) .

Paper and pulp mill


Caustic soda in soaps and detergents -

The market has a variety of soaps which differs from each other in several aspects like in fragrance, shape, design, texture etc.

When we are talking about soaps then definitely we are talking about that solid, smooth, fragrant thing that we use to freshen ourselves while bathing.

Saponification is the process in which we convert the fatty acids like stearic or palmitic acids into the soap via going through a standard reaction carried out by specified reactants.

How this caustic soda helps in saponification -

Actually the use of caustic soda is very important in this process because the soaps that we use in solid form is only possible with the use of caustic soda.

In the above mentioned process, Caustic soda is used to favor the precipitation of soaps to solidify them and hence we are capable of casting the soaps into required design and shapes.

An image of five different decorative soap bars of various shapes of white, light yellow and light pink colors made of natural ingredients lying on a wooden surface


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