Sodium hydroxide is a solid fluidic chemical valuable compound for industrial purposes, mainly in soaps and cleaners. Although sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is also known as soda or lye, which acts as a drain cleaner in unclogging pipes. Often the compound reacts with strong acids like nitric, sulphuric or hydrochloric only to dispose of large amounts of heat in the process. It can react with several other things like water, metals, iron and thus delivers different equations and effects of the experiment. Similarly, water in reaction with sodium hydroxide discharges heat in a colourless and odourless manner. Also, it is widely used by soaps and detergent, owing to its ability to alter fats. Now, let’s discuss its reactions in detail. 

Sodium Hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide is a white, odourless solid compound that reacts aggressively with water and other chemicals. Sodium hydroxide is corrosive primarily for absorbing moisture from the environment. The moisture in reaction with sodium hydroxide dissolves heat, which can cause fire around flammable materials. Likewise, when the solid is put at room temperature, it turns odourless and colourless.  

Uses of Sodium Hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide provides multiple benefits in its application. Some of them are: 

• It is helpful in manufacturing papers
• Functional in making soaps and detergents 
• Useful in making artificial textile fibres like rayon
• Helpful in purifying bauxite ore. Bauxite ore extracts the metals present in aluminium
• It is optimised in oil refining while making dyes, bleaches, degreasing metals etc. 
• Sodium hydroxide helps to extract dirt and impurities from crude oil. Thus, the process is known as caustic washing. 
• NaOH is widely accepted for its capability of altering fats. 

How to prepare sodium hydroxide

One can prepare sodium hydroxide or caustic soda by mixing sodium carbonate in hot lime milk in an iron tank. The aqueous solution of NaOH and CO2 compounds can be shown as- Na2CO3 + Ca(OH)2 → CaCO3 + 2NaOH

Here, Na2CO3 is sodium carbonate and Ca(OH)2 is hot lime milk. The process excludes calcium carbonate (CaCO3) by filtration and uses the final solution for soap, paper making and detergents. 

Problems caused by sodium hydroxide

• Sodium hydroxide is a hazardous substance that harms when it comes in contact with skin. Consumption of sodium hydroxide leads to burns, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain and nausea. 
• Often the throat, mouth and stomach are more likely to be damaged instantly. Inhaling the odour of NaOH can create irritation in the respiratory tract and difficulty in the breathing process.  
• Moreover, the severe effects of sodium hydroxide rely on factors like coming in contact with the compound, time duration of disclosing with the compound, consumption or inhalation. 
• Staying in contact with sodium hydroxide causes burns to the stomach, lungs, and eyes, leading to death. Continuous inhalation can permanently damage the lungs. 

Reactions

The reaction of sodium hydroxide with carbon dioxide, zinc and other elements delivers different results. Any aspiring student can try out these experiments for their preparation under professional supervision. The two significant reactions of sodium hydroxide are:

1.  Reaction of sodium hydroxidewith carbon dioxide
2.   Reaction of sodium hydroxidewith zinc  

The reaction of Sodium hydroxide and carbon dioxide (CO2)

Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a solid base, and carbon dioxide (CO2) is acidic. The presence of alkali metal makes a strong base of sodium hydroxide that immediately reacts with acidic compounds like CO2. Carbon dioxide forms a weak base compound known as sodium carbonate in reaction with sodium hydroxide. The formation then acts as a barrier in obtaining endpoints of acid-base elution. It can be defined by the equation Na2CO3.

The final reaction that attains from the reaction of a strong base and acidic compound is:

2NaOH+CO2→Na2CO3+H2O

The conclusion drawn from the equation should be: Carbon dioxide in reaction with sodium hydroxide tends to form sodium carbonate. The formation then dissolves in water, often known as washing soda. 

The reaction of sodium hydroxide with zinc

The zinc and sodium hydroxide reaction is known as a single displacement reaction. Sodium hydroxide reacts with zinc and forms sodium zincate and hydrogen gas. The reactivity level of zinc is often less than that of sodium hydroxide. Thus, when zinc reacts with sodium hydroxide, it draws the following equation.

Zn+2NaOH→2Na2ZnO2+H2

Conclusion 

The chemical reaction of sodium hydroxide with various other compounds is an exothermic process. On the one hand, carbon dioxide in the reaction of sodium hydroxide forms sodium carbonate. On the other hand, the zinc and sodium hydroxide reaction forms hydrogen gas and sodium zincate. Sodium hydroxide is a very reactive compound, beneficial for industrial purposes such as making soaps, detergents, papers, crayons, etc. 

It is a potent base compound consisting of odourless and colourless features. It is of great importance in commercial areas and laboratories owing to its ability to alter fats. NaOH is corrosive and causes hazards when one comes into contact with it. Therefore, industries optimise the compound under professional supervision following safety regulations.