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Caustic Soda Manufacture by DOW Chemicals: Process Overview

Dow Chemicals produces caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) through two electrolytic processes: diaphragm cells and membrane cells. In both processes, an electric current is passed through a sodium chloride solution, decomposing the salt into chlorine at the anode and sodium at the cathode. The sodium then combines with water molecules to form caustic soda and hydrogen gas. The diaphragm cell uses a porous barrier to separate the chlorine and caustic soda, while the membrane cell uses a selective membrane that only allows sodium ions to pass. Both processes co-produce caustic soda and chlorine from sodium chloride.

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Yash Bhargava
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187 views2 pages

Caustic Soda Manufacture by DOW Chemicals: Process Overview

Dow Chemicals produces caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) through two electrolytic processes: diaphragm cells and membrane cells. In both processes, an electric current is passed through a sodium chloride solution, decomposing the salt into chlorine at the anode and sodium at the cathode. The sodium then combines with water molecules to form caustic soda and hydrogen gas. The diaphragm cell uses a porous barrier to separate the chlorine and caustic soda, while the membrane cell uses a selective membrane that only allows sodium ions to pass. Both processes co-produce caustic soda and chlorine from sodium chloride.

Uploaded by

Yash Bhargava
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Caustic soda manufacture by DOW

chemicals
Process Overview
Over 95% of the capacity to produce chlorine and essentially 100% of the capacity to produce
caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, NaOH) are based on the electrolysis of brine. In this process a
sodium chloride (NaCl, salt) solution (brine) is electrolytically decomposed to elemental chlorine
(in the anode compartment), and sodium hydroxide solution and elemental hydrogen (in the
cathode compartment). A chemical facility which co-produces caustic soda and chlorine is
typically referred to as a chlor-alkali (C/A) facility.
The overall reaction for the electrolytic production of caustic soda and chlorine is:

The electrolytic route to making caustic soda, by using sodium chloride as a raw material, is a
co-product process, i.e., for each 1.1 pounds of sodium hydroxide produced, one pound of
chlorine is also produced. This ratio is referred to as an electrochemical unit (ECU).
Dow utilizes two electrolytic processes to produce caustic soda solution and chlorine. These
processes are:

Diaphragm cell

Membrane cell

Diaphragm Cell
Using diaphragm cell technology, chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen are produced
simultaneously. Saturated brine enters the anode compartment of the cell, where chlorine gas is
liberated. The function of the diaphragm is to separate the brine from the caustic solution (called
cell effluent) at the cathode side, which is also where hydrogen gas is released.

Membrane Cell
Membrane cell technology is a relatively recent development. It differs from diaphragm cell
technology in that the solutions surrounding each electrode are separated by a membrane rather

than a diaphragm. The membrane is very selective and primarily allows the migration of sodium
ions from the anode chamber to the cathode chamber. Saturated brine enters the anode
compartment of the cell where chlorine gas is liberated. Since only sodium ions can pass through
the membrane to the cathode (brine cannot pass through the membrane), the caustic soda (cell
effluent) contains substantially less sodium chloride. No salt removal capabilities are required as
in the diaphragm cell process.
By passing a current of electricity through a sodium chloride solution the salt is decomposed into
chlorine at the anode and sodium at the cathode. But the latter at once decomposes a molecule of
water of the solution, forming caustic soda and setting free hydrogen. Hence the products of
electrolysis are chlorine, caustic soda, and hydrogen, of which the last mentioned is of no
practical value at present.
There are serious mechanical difficulties encountered in all electrolytic processes for
decomposing salt. The chlorine set free at the anode must not be permitted to diffuse through the
whole solution, since it causes secondary reactions. To prevent this diffusion, various devices
have been proposed, most of them being porous diaphragms between the anode and cathode. But
no material is yet known which, while offering no resistance to the passage of the electrical
current, still prevents the diffusion of the sodium hydroxide used for the diaphragms, because of
the destructive action of the chlorine. The nascent chlorine is also very destructive to the anode
and practically only platinum, 01' slabs cut from magnetite (Fea04), . have proved efficient in
withstanding its action. These are expensive, and magnetite slabs are very fragile. If the
hydrogen liberated at the cathode is permitted to escape through the solution, it stirs the liquid,
aiding the diffusion of the chlorine, and the consequent formation of chlorates and hypochlorites,
thus: 1) NaCl = Na + C1.
2) Na + H"O = NaOn + H.
3) 2 NaOH + 2 Cl = NaClO + NaCl + H20.
4) 3 NaCIO = NaClOa + 2 NaC1.
5) NaCIOa + 6 H = NaCl + 3 H20.
Thus reactions 3, 4 and 5 cause a loss, since they regenerate salt from the chlorine set free.

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