What is the difference between Soda Ash and Caustic Soda?

Soda Ash and Caustic Soda are highly alkaline chemical raw materials, they are both white solid, the name is also similar, easy to confuse people. In fact, Soda Ash is Sodium Carbonate (Na₂CO₃), and Caustic Soda is Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), the two are not the same substance at all. It can also be seen from the molecular formula that Sodium Carbonate is a salt, not a base, because the aqueous solution of Sodium Carbonate becomes basic, because it is also known as Soda Ash. Here we explain the difference between the two in detail from several aspects.

Differences between Soda Ash and Caustic Soda:

1. Difference in appearance

2. Difference in chemical name and formula

Soda Ash: chemical name Sodium Carbonate, chemical formula Na₂CO₃.

Caustic Soda: chemical name Sodium Hydroxide, chemical formula NaOH.

3. Difference in physical and chemical properties

Soda Ash is a salt, Sodium Carbonate containing ten crystalline water is colorless crystal, crystalline water is unstable, easily weathered, turning into a white powder Na2CO3, a strong electrolyte, It has the commonness and thermal stability of salt, easy to dissolve in water, its aqueous solution is alkaline.

Caustic Soda is a strong caustic alkali, generally in sheet or granular form, easily soluble in water (when dissolved in water, heat release) and form an alkaline solution, In addition, it has deliquescence, easy to absorb water vapor in the air.

4. Difference in application

Soda Ash is one of the important chemical raw materials, widely used in industries of light industrial daily chemical, building materials, chemical industry, food industry, metallurgy, textile, petroleum, national defense, medicine and other fields. It’s used as raw materials for the manufacture of other chemicals, cleaning agents, detergents, and also used in photography and analysis fields. It is followed by metallurgy, textiles, petroleum, national defense, medicine and other industries. The glass industry is the largest consumer of Soda Ash, consuming 0.2 tons of Soda Ash per ton of glass. In the industrial Soda Ash, mainly light industry, building materials, chemical industry, accounting for about 2/3, followed by metallurgy, textile, petroleum, national defense, medicine and other industries.

Caustic Soda is mainly used in the production of paper making, cellulose pulp, soap, synthetic detergent, synthetic fatty acid production and animal and vegetable oil refining. In textile printing and dyeing industry it’s used as cotton desizing agent, boiling agent and mercerizing agent. In chemical industry it’s for the production of borax, sodium cyanide, formic acid, oxalic acid, phenol and so on. In the petroleum industry it is used to refine petroleum products and in oilfield drilling mud. It is also used for the surface treatment of aluminum oxide, metal zinc and metal copper, as well as glass, enamel, leather, medicine, dyes and pesticides. Food grade products are used in the food industry as acid neutralizer, peeling agent for citrus, peaches, etc., can also be used as detergent for empty bottles, empty cans and other containers, as well as decolorizing agent, deodorizing agent.

Weifang Toption Chemical lndustry Co., Ltd. is a professional supplier of Soda Ash, Soda Ash Light, Soda Ash Dense, Caustic Soda, Calcium Chloride, Barium Chloride Dihydrate, Magnesium Chloride, Sodium Metabisulfite, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Hydrosulfite, Gel Breaker, etc. Please visit our website www.toptionchem.com for more information. If you have any requirement, please do not hesitate to contact us.