USES

1. Applications of Caustic Soda
Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) is a strategic raw material in various industries and applications.
The main users of sodium hydroxide globally are pulp and paper, alumina and chemical industry.
In pulp and paper industry the product is used in pulp cooking.
Sodium Hydroxide is also used quite a bit in food processing. The compound is often used in steps
for peeling fruits and vegetables, processing cocoa and chocolate, thickening of ice cream, poultry
scalding and soda processing. Olives are soaked in Sodium Hydroxide along with other substances
to make them black, and soft pretzels are also coated with the compound to give them a chewy
texture.
Other uses include:
 Used in processes to make products including plastics, soaps rayon and Textiles
 Revitalizing acids in petroleum refining
 Removal of paint
 Etching aluminum
 Dehorning of cattle
 During two steps of the paper making process
 Used in relaxers to help straighten hair however this is becoming less popular because of
the possibility of chemical burns
Storage and Handling:
Caustic Soda is normally handled and stored in iron or steel containers and at temperatures above
15°C and below 55°C. At temperatures higher than 55°C, the caustic solution may pick up iron,
which could cause it to deteriorate in time due to caustic embattlement. Caustic Soda in higher
temperature conditions in tanks lined with an organic metal. At temperatures below 15°C, a
Caustic Soda solution will start to freeze. A small low-pressure steam coil inside the tank is
adequate for keeping the caustic solution within recommended temperature ranges.
Pulp and paper
The largest application for caustic soda worldwide. Uses include in pulping and bleaching
processes, the de-inking of waste paper and water treatment.
Textiles
Used to process cotton and dye synthetic fibers, such as nylon and polyester.
Soap and detergents
Used in saponification, the chemical process that converts fat, tallow and vegetable oils into soap.
It also is used to manufacture anionic surfactants, a crucial component in most detergents and
cleaning products.
Bleach manufacturing

2. Used to make bleach, which has industrial and consumer applications such as mold and mildew
control around the home.
Petroleum products
Used to explore, produce and process petroleum and natural gas.
Aluminum production
Used to dissolve bauxite ore, the raw material for aluminum production.
Chemical processing
Used as a basic feedstock for a wide range of downstream products, including solvents, plastics,
fabrics, adhesives, coatings, herbicides, dyes, inks, pharmaceuticals and more.
Applications of Nitric acid
The manufacturing of fertilizer is actually the most common use of nitric acid. Nitric acid is a
highly corrosive acidic substance. Its physical state is a colorless liquid but sometimes, it may
have a yellowish tint. Nitric acid dissolves metals such as iron, copper and silver. It is a strong
oxidizing agent, a substance that readily accepts electrons from another substance.
Nitric acid is a very important substance that is used as a raw material to produce other substances.
This makes it important in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The most common use for
nitric acid is to make fertilizer. One of the raw materials required to make an effective fertilizer is
nitric acid, where it reacts with ammonia to produce ammonium nitrate.
Aerospace Engineering
Rockets use different type of propellants. In liquid-fueled rockets, a liquid oxidizer is combined
with fuel. Nitric acid, being a strong oxidizing agent, has been used as the oxidizer in liquid-fueled
rockets.
The forms of nitrogen used as rocket propellant are usually: white fuming nitric acid a storable
oxidizer that consists of highly concentrated nitric acid - around greater than 95%, and red fuming
nitric acid also a storable oxidizer with a nitric acid concentration of around 84%.
Fertilizers
Nitric acid is used in the production of ammonium nitrate for fertilizers, making plastics, and in
the manufacture of dyes. It is also used for making explosives such as nitroglycerin and TNT.
When it is combined with hydrochloric acid, an element called aqua regia is formed. This is a
reagent that is capable of dissolving gold and platinum. Additionally, it is used in a colorimetric
test to distinguish heroin and morphine.

3. Digestion
It is also typically used in the digestion process of turbid water samples, solid sludge samples, as
well as other types of unique samples that require elemental analysis via flame atomic absorption
spectroscopy.
Organic synthesis
In organic synthesis, nitric acid may be used to introduce the nitro group. When used with sulfuric
acid, it generates the nitronium ion, which electrophilically reacts with aromatic compounds such
as benzene.
Electrochemistrty
In electrochemistry, nitric acid is used as a chemical doping agent for organic semiconductors, and
in purification processes for raw carbon nanotubes.
Uses in different industries
 Acrylic Fiber industries make use of nitric acid as a solvent in Acrylic Fibers
 Circuit Board Manufacture use nitric acid for Imaging Copper Etch
 Electroplating use it as Acid Metal Cleaner and Oxide Remover
 Iron and Steel industries use it as a Pickling Acid
 Machinery manufacture and Repair use it as a Cleansing agent
 Semiconductors industries use nitric acid for Wet Chemical Etching
Applications of Sulphuric Acid
Sulfuric acid is one of the most important industrial chemicals. More of it is made each year than
is made of any other manufactured chemical.It has widely varied uses and plays some part in the
production of nearly all manufactured goods. The major use of sulfuric acid is in the production
of fertilizers, e.g., superphosphate of lime and ammonium sulfate. It is widely used in the
manufacture of chemicals, e.g., in making hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfate salts, synthetic
detergents, dyes and pigments, explosives, and drugs. It is used in petroleum refining to wash
impurities out of gasoline and other refinery products. Sulfuric acid is used in processing metals,
e.g., in pickling (cleaning) iron and steel before plating them with tin or zinc. Rayon is made with
sulfuric acid. It serves as the electrolyte in the lead-acid storage battery commonly used in motor
vehicles.
Fertilizers
Ammonium sulfate, an important nitrogen fertilizer, is most commonly produced as a byproduct
from coking plants supplying the iron and steel making plants. Reacting the ammonia produced in
the thermal decomposition of coal with waste sulfuric acid allows the ammonia to be crystallized
out as a salt and sold into the agro-chemicals industry.

4. Another important fertilizer made by sulfuric acid is aluminium sulfate, also known as paper
maker's alum. This can react with small amounts of soap on paper pulp fibers to give gelatinous
aluminium carboxylates, which help to coagulate the pulp fibers into a hard paper surface. It is
also used for making aluminium hydroxide, which is used at water treatment plants to filter out
impurities, as well as to improve the taste of the water.
Catalyst
Sulfuric acid is used for a variety of other purposes in the chemical industry. For example, it is the
usual acid catalyst for the conversion of cyclohexanone oxime to caprolactam, used for making
nylon. It is used for making hydrochloric acid from salt via the Mannheim process. Much sulfuric
acid is used in petroleum refining.
Cleansing agent
Sulfuric acid is used in large quantities by the iron and steelmaking industry to remove oxidation,
rust and scaling from rolled sheet and billets prior to sale to the automobile and major appliances
industry.
Moreover sulphuric acid is used as
 Pesticides
 Drying or dehydrating agent
 Pigment for paints
 Electrolyte in lead accumulators
 In refining of oils
 In paper and sugar bleaching