Caustic Soda Handbook - cheresources.com

1 OxyChemCaustic SodaHandbook1 of 44 Page Introduction & Principal Uses ..2 Manufacturing ..3 Methods of Shipping Caustic soda ..4 Safety in Handling Caustic soda ..5 Unloading and Handling Liquid Caustic soda ..7 Equipment for Handling Caustic soda ..14 Technical Data ..17 Dilution Calculations ..32 Methods of Analysis ..34"Important: The information presented herein, while not guaranteed, was prepared by technical personnel and is true and accurate to the best of our knowl-edge. NO WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR WARRANTY OR GUARANTY OF ANY OTHERKIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IS MADE REGARDING PERFORMANCE, SAFETY, SUITABILITY, STABILITY OR OTHERWISE. This information is notintended to be all-inclusive as to the manner and conditions of use, handling, storage, disposal and other factors that may involve other or additional legal,environmental, safety or performance considerations, and OxyChem assumes no liability whatsoever for the use of or reliance upon this information.

2 Whileour technical personnel will be happy to respond to questions, safe handling and use of the product remains the responsibility of the customer. No sugges-tions for use are intended as, and nothing herein shall be construed as, a recommendation to infringe any existing patents or to violate any Federal, State,local or foreign laws."Occidental Chemical Corporation 2009 CellBWNaOHNaOHCaustic SodaHandbookOxyChemfifiOxyChem is a registered trademark of Occidental Chemical Corporation. ForewordThis Handbook outlines the methods forhandling, storing, preparing and using causticsoda. It includes information on the manufacture,physical properties, safety considerations andanalytical methods for testing Caustic soda . Additional information and contacts can befound at Chemical Corporation (OxyChem)Basic Chemicals GroupOccidental Tower5005 LBJ FreewayDallas, TX 75244 Principal Uses andConsumption ofCaustic SodaIntroduction2 of 44 Caustic soda (sodium hydroxideor NaOH) is most commonly manu-factured by the electrolysis of asodium chloride (NaCl) manufactures causticsoda using either membrane ordiaphragm electrolytic does not use mercurybased electrolytic cells to producecaustic soda .

3 The co-productsformed from the electrolytic produc-tion of Caustic soda are chlorineand largest users of Caustic sodaare the pulp and paper, detergentand chemical industries. Causticsoda is also used in the alumina,oil and gas and textile industries,mostly for its alkalinity value. OxyChem has played a leadingrole in providing Caustic soda tomeet the increasing demands ofindustry. OxyChem plants arestrategically located to convenientlyand economically serve are used to maintainstocks of our Caustic soda in manyprincipal cities. Distributor stocksare also available in these andmany other cities and form a net-work of supply for the end user Caustic soda is available asa 50% solution in two main name of the grades corre-sponds to the equipment used toproduced the Caustic soda ; mem-brane grade and diaphragm sheets for each gradecan be found on our website To be technically correct, onlymolten Caustic soda should becalled liquid, but since the term liq-uid Caustic soda has historicallybeen used to describe solutions ofcaustic soda , it is used in this doc-ument interchangeably with theterm produces Caustic sodaat the following locations: Battleground, TX (Diaphragm) Convent, LA (Diaphragm) Geismar, LA (Membrane and Diaphragm) Ingleside, TX (Diaphragm) Niagara Falls, NY (Diaphragm) Taft, LA (Diaphragm) Wichita, KS (Membrane and Diaphragm) Caustic soda is one of the veryfew chemicals utilized in a verybroad range of applications.

4 Someprincipal products or processes inwhich Caustic soda is used are: Acid Neutralization Agricultural Chemicals Aluminum Battery Recycling Bleach Boiler Compounds Cellulose Film Chemicals:AmmoniaAmyl AminesCresolEthylene AminesFormic AcidGlycerineMaleic AnhydridePentaerythritolPhenolPropylene OxidePolycarbonatesSalicylic AcidSodium AluminateSodium HydrosulfideSodium HypochloriteSodium PhosphatesStyreneVinyl Chloride Monomer Cleaning Formulations Corn Syrup Detergents Drain Cleaners Dyestuffs Ethanol Fermentation Food Processing Fruit & Vegetable Peeling Glass-Batch Wetting Ion-Exchange ResinRegeneration Metal Production and Casting Ore Flotation and Processing Paint Removers Petroleum Refining pH Adjustment Pharmaceuticals Pigments Pool & Spa chemicals Pulp & Paper Rayon Silicates Soap Surfactants Textile Bleaching, Dyeing, andMercerizing Vegetable Oil Processing Water Treatment3 of 44 Caustic soda is produced byOxyChem by an electrolyticprocess as shown below.

5 Brine,prepared from sodium chloride(NaCl), is electrolyzed in either amembrane cell or a diaphragm production of Caustic soda (NaOH) also results in the co-prod-ucts of chlorine and the membrane process, asolution of approximately 30% instrength is formed. The solution isthen sent to evaporators, whichconcentrate it to a strength of 50%by removing the appropriateamount of water. The diaphragm process is verysimilar to the membrane processexcept that a solution of only 10-12% is formed in the , additional evaporation isrequired to reach the saleable con-centration of 50%.The Caustic soda solution isinventoried in storage tanks prior toshipment. The product is shippedin tank trucks, railcars, barges major difference in the twogrades is the amount of startingmaterial (sodium chloride) remain-ing in the final product. Membranegrade Caustic soda will have lessthan 100ppm of the sodium chlo-ride remaining in the grade material will haveless than sodium other differences can beseen in the products when thespecification sheets are NaCl + 2 H2O electricity2 NaOH + Cl2+ H2 Production FlowchartsNaCl + H2O = BrineBrine TreatmentElectrolysisDiaphragm CellConcentrationFilters50% LiquidCaustic soda StorageCell Liquor12% Caustic SodaNaCl + H2O = BrineBrine Treatmentand purificationElectrolysisMembrane CellConcentration50% LiquidCaustic soda Storage30% Caustic SodahydrogenchlorinehydrogenchlorineDiap hragmMembrane electricityelectricityNaCl4 of 44 Methods of ShippingLiquid Caustic SodaLiquid Caustic soda is availablefrom OxyChem s many plants andterminals in tank truck, tank car,barge and ship quantities.

6 Eachform of transportation has its ownadvantages. The type of serviceselected will depend upon suchfactors as size and location ofstorage, rate of consumption,plant location, freight rates, etc. Caustic soda , liquid, is regulated bythe Department ofTransportation (DOT) and is classi-fied as a corrosive DOT identification number is UN I824 for liquid caus-tic of 44 Safety in HandlingCaustic SodaCaustic sodain any concentra-tion must be respected by every-one who handles and uses starting to work with it,the user should be aware of itsproperties, know what safetyprecautions to follow, and knowhow to react in case of exposure to causticsoda may occur under severalconditions. Potentially haz-ardous situations include han-dling and packaging operations,equipment cleaning and repair,decontamination following spillsand equipment who may be subjectto such exposure must be pro-vided with proper personal pro-tective equipment and trained inits use. Some general guidelinesfollow. Read and understand the latestMaterial Safety Data Sheet.

7 Provide eyewash fountains andsafety showers in all areas wherecaustic soda is used or Caustic soda burn may beserious. DO NOT use any kind ofneutralizing solution, particularlyin the eyes, without direction by aphysician. Move the patient to a hospitalemergency room immediatelyafter first aid measures AID MEASURESFor Eyes: If for any reasoncaustic soda contacts the eyes,flood the eyes immediately withplenty of clean water. Continueflushing for at least 15 flushing, forcibly hold theeyelids apart to ensure rinsing ofthe entire eye not useany kind of neutralizing solutionin the MEDICAL skin: If Caustic soda comesin contact with skin or clothing,flush with plenty of clean water forat least 15 minutes. Remove conta-minated clothing and wash affected clothingand rubber/vinyl footwear. Discardcontaminated leather MEDICAL inhalation: If a worker isovercome due to the inhalation ofcaustic soda dust, mist or spray,remove them from the contaminat-ed area to fresh air. If breathing isdifficult, have a trained personadminister oxygen.

8 If breathing hasstopped, have a trained personadminister artificial respiration. GET MEDICAL ingestion: Although it is unlikely in an industrial situation that Caustic soda wouldbe ingested, it could be swallowedaccidentally. If that occurs, DONOT induce vomiting. Give largequantities of water. If vomitingoccurs spontaneously, position indi-vidual s head to keep airway give anything by mouth toan unconscious person. GET MEDICAL ATTEN-TION EQUIPMENTOSHA requires employers tosupply suitable protective equip-ment for employees. When han-dling Caustic soda , the followingprotective equipment is recom-mended: Wear suitable chemical splashgoggles for eye protection dur-ing the handling of causticsoda in any concentration. Thegoggles should be close-fittingand provide adequate ventilationto prevent fogging, without allow-ing entry of liquids. The use of a face shield may beappropriate when splashing canoccur, including loading andunloading operations. Wear rubber gloves or glovescoated with rubber, syntheticelastomers, PVC, or other plas-tics to protect the hands whilehandling Caustic soda .

9 Glovesshould be long enough to comewell above the wrist. Sleevesshould be positioned over theglove wrists. Caustic soda causes leather todisintegrate quite rapidly. For thisreason, wear rubber boots. Wearthe bottoms of trouser legs out-FACESHIELDCHEMICALSUITRUBBERBOOTSCHE MICALSPLASHGOGGLESRUBBERGLOVES6 of 44 Safety in HandlingCaustic Sodaside the boots. DO NOT tuck in. Wear chemical resistant clothingfor protection of the vinyl or rubber suitsare recommended. Wear hard hats for some protec-tion of the head, face and neck. If exposures are expected toexceed accepted regulatory limitsor if respiratory discomfort isexperienced use a NIOSH approved air purifying respiratorwith high efficiency dust and PRACTICES Avoid breathing dust, mist orspray of Caustic soda . Wear proper protective equip-ment. If warranted, wearapproved respiratory protection. Keep equipment clean by wash-ing off any accumulation of caus-tic soda . Weld pipelines where flanged joints with gasketsmade of Caustic soda resistantmaterial such as rubber, PTFE,or EPDM rubber.

10 If a screwed fit-ting is used, apply Teflon tape tothe threads. When disconnecting equipmentfor repairs, first verify that thereis no internal pressure on theequipment and that the equip-ment has been drained andwashed. Provide storage tanks with suit-able overflow pipes. Overflowpipes should be directed near thebottom of the diked area. Shield the packing glands ofpumps to prevent spraying ofcaustic solutions in the event of aleak. When releasing air pressure froma pressurized system, take everyprecaution to avoid spurts orsprays of Caustic solution. When making solutions, alwaysadd the Caustic soda slowly tothe surface of the water with con-stant agitation. Never add thewater to the Caustic start with lukewarm water(80 -100 F). Never start with hotor cold water. Dangerous boilingor splattering can occur if causticsoda is added too rapidly,allowed to concentrate in onearea or added to hot or cold liq-uids. Care must be taken toavoid these situations. In case of a spill or leak, stop theleak as soon as possible.