Caustic Soda Uses & Benefits
Caustic Soda is used to manufacture many everyday products, such as paper, aluminum, commercial drain and oven cleaners, and soap and detergents.
Caustic Soda in Cleaning & Disinfectant Products
Caustic Soda is used to manufacture soaps and a variety of detergents used in homes and commercial applications. Chlorine bleach is produced by combining chlorine and Caustic Soda. Drain cleaners that contain Caustic Soda convert fats and grease that can clog pipes into soap, which dissolves in water.
Caustic Soda in Pharmaceuticals & Medicine
Caustic Soda is used to help manufacture a variety of medicines and pharmaceutical products, from common pain relievers like aspirin, to anticoagulants that can help to prevent blood clots, to cholesterol-reducing medications.
Caustic Soda in Energy
In the energy sector, Caustic Soda is used in fuel cell production. Fuel cells work like batteries to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity for a range of applications, including transportation; materials handling; and stationary, portable and emergency backup power applications. Epoxy resins, manufactured with Caustic Soda, are used in wind turbines.
Caustic Soda in Water Treatment
Municipal water treatment facilities use Caustic Soda to control water acidity and to help remove heavy metals from water. Caustic Soda is also used to produce sodium hypochlorite, a water disinfectant.
Caustic Soda in Food Production
Caustic Soda is used in several food processing applications, such as curing foods like olives or helping to brown Bavarian-style pretzels, giving them their characteristic crunch. Caustic Soda is used to remove skins from tomatoes, potatoes and other fruits and vegetables for canning and also as an ingredient in food preservatives that help prevent mold and bacteria from growing in food.
Caustic Soda in Wood & Paper Products
In many paper making processes, wood is treated with a solution containing sodium sulfide and Caustic Soda. This helps dissolve most of the unwanted material in the wood, leaving relatively pure cellulose, which forms the basis of paper. In the paper recycling process, Caustic Soda is used to separate the ink from the paper fibers allowing the paper fibers to be reused again.
Caustic Soda is also used to refine raw materials for wood products such as cabinets and furniture and in wood bleaching and cleaning.
Caustic Soda in Aluminum Ore Processing
Caustic Soda is used to extract alumina from naturally occurring minerals. Alumina is used to make aluminum and a variety of products including foil, cans, kitchen utensils, beer kegs and airplane parts. In building and construction, aluminum is used in materials that enable building facades and window frames.
Caustic Soda in Other Industrial Manufacturing Uses
Caustic Soda is used in many other industrial and manufacturing processes. It is used to manufacture rayon, spandex, explosives, epoxy resins, paints, glass and ceramics. It is also used in the textile industry to make dyes, process cotton fabric and in laundering and bleaching, as well as in metal cleaning and processing, oxide coating, electroplating and electrolytic extracting.
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