Manufacturer Good Price Potassium Hydroxide CAS:1310-58-3
Synonyms
POTASH;POTASH CAUSTIC;POTASH LYE;POTASSIUM HYDRATE;
POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE STANDARD;POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE;
POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE ETHANOLIC;hydroxydedepotassium(solide)
Applications of Potassium Hydroxide
Potassium Hydroxide, Potassium hydroxide(KOH) is highly basic, forming strongly alkaline solutions in water and other polar solvents. These solutions are capable of deprotonating many acids, even weak ones.
Potassium hydroxide is used to make soft soap, in scrubbing and cleaning operations, as a mordant for woods, in dyes and colorants, and for absorbing carbon dioxide. Other principle uses of caustic potash are in the preparation of several potassium salts, acid-base titrations, and in orgainic sytheses. Also, KOH is an electrolyte in certain alkaline storage batteries and fuel cells. Potassium hydroxide is used in neutralization reactions to yield potassium salts. Aqueous potassium hydroxide is employed as the electrolyte in alkaline batteries based on nickel-cadmium and manganese dioxide-zinc. Alcoholic KOH solutions are also used as an effective method for cleaning glassware. KOH works well in the manufacture of biodiesel by catalyzing transesterification of the triglycerides in vegetable oil.
Potassium hydroxide has many different functions and uses.
1. It is primarily used as an intermediate in industrial manufacturing processes, such as the manufacture of fertilisers, potassium carbonate or other potassium salts and organic chemicals.
2. It is also used in the manufacture of detergents and in alkaline batteries.
3. Small-scale uses include drain cleaning products, paint removers and degreasing agents.
4. manufacture of liquid soap;
5. mordant for wood;
6. absorbing CO2;
7. mercerizing cotton;
8. paint and varnish removers;
9. electroplating, photoengraving and lithography;
10. printing inks;
11. in analytical chemistry and in organic syntheses.
12. Pharmaceutic aid (alkalizer).
Specification of Potassium Hydroxide
|
ITEM |
SPEC |
|
KOH |
90% MIN |
|
POTASSIUM CARBONATE |
0.5% MAX |
|
CHLORIDE |
0.005 MAX |
|
SULPHATE |
0.002 MAX |
|
NITRATE&NITRITE |
0.0005 MAX |
|
PHOSPHATE(PO4) |
0.002 MAX |
|
SILICATE(SiO3) |
0.01 MAX |
|
IRON |
0.0002 MAX |
|
Na |
0.5 MAX |
|
Al |
0.001 MAX |
|
Ca |
0.002 MAX |
|
Ni |
0.0005 MAX |
|
Pb |
0.001 MAX |
Packing of Potassium Hydroxide
25kg/bag
Storage should be at cool, dry and ventilate.
Q1: What is potassium hydroxide? What are its core physical and chemical properties?
Potassium hydroxide (commonly known as caustic potash) is a typical strong alkaline inorganic chemical raw material composed of potassium ions and hydroxide ions. Its CAS number is 1310-58-3, molecular formula KOH, and molecular weight 56.11. It appears as white flake, granular or rod-shaped solid at room temperature. With strong deliquescence, it rapidly absorbs moisture and carbon dioxide in the air and deteriorates. It has a melting point of 360℃ and a boiling point of 1320℃. It is highly soluble in water, ethanol and glycerol with significant heat release during dissolution, and slightly soluble in ether. Potassium hydroxide is highly corrosive to skin, fabrics, glass, ceramics and rubber. It features active chemical properties and can undergo neutralization and double decomposition reactions with acids, acidic oxides and most metal salts.
Q2: What is the alkalinity of potassium hydroxide aqueous solution? How strong is its basicity?
Potassium hydroxide aqueous solution is strongly alkaline, with the pH value of saturated solution reaching approximately 14. As a fully ionized strong alkali electrolyte, it has a higher hydroxide ion concentration and stronger performance in decontamination, saponification and neutralization compared with sodium hydroxide. Higher water temperature and solution concentration will enhance its alkalinity and chemical activity, accompanied by more obvious heat release during dissolution.
Q3: What is the difference between flake potassium hydroxide and granular potassium hydroxide? How to select the right type?
The two types have identical chemical composition, purity and chemical properties, and only differ in physical form and application scenarios. Flake potassium hydroxide features moderate dissolution speed, low dust generation and high cost performance, suitable for large-scale industrial dissolution, wastewater neutralization and saponification reactions. Granular potassium hydroxide has uniform particle size, good fluidity, faster dissolution rate and stable feeding accuracy, making it ideal for fine chemical production, daily chemical preparation and precision reactions that require uniform feeding. Users can select the appropriate form according to feeding methods and process precision requirements.
Q4: What are the mainstream specifications and quality standards of potassium hydroxide?
Potassium hydroxide is mainly divided into industrial grade, battery grade and reagent grade, generally packed in 25kg sealed packages. Industrial grade is the mainstream commercial type with three purity standards: ≥90%, ≥95% and ≥99%, featuring extremely low content of chloride, carbonate, iron and heavy metals. Battery grade has a purity of ≥99.9% with strict impurity control and no harmful trace impurities, specially applied for new energy battery production. Reagent grade has a purity of ≥99.5% for laboratory precision experiments and high-end chemical synthesis. Available forms include flakes, granules and powder to meet diverse process requirements.
Q5: What are the core application fields of potassium hydroxide?
Potassium hydroxide is widely used in new energy, daily chemical, chemical industry, light industry, environmental protection and other fields. 1. Daily chemical industry: Core raw material for saponification reactions, used in liquid soap, hand sanitizer, laundry detergent and cosmetic soap base production. 2. New energy industry: Battery-grade potassium hydroxide is used for electrolyte preparation of lithium batteries and potassium-ion batteries for energy storage. 3. Chemical synthesis: Applied to produce potassium carbonate, potassium permanganate, potassium salt additives and pesticide intermediates. 4. Environmental protection & water treatment: Serves as a strong alkali neutralizer to adjust wastewater pH, neutralize acidic water and remove heavy metal ions. 5. Textile & leather industry: Used for textile bleaching, degreasing and leather deliming and softening. 6. Other fields: Qualified food-grade product acts as food processing auxiliary, and it can also be used for precision cleaning and drying.
Q6: What are the differences between food-grade, industrial-grade and battery-grade potassium hydroxide? Are they interchangeable?
The three grades differ greatly in purity, impurity limits and application scenarios, and cross-grade replacement is strictly prohibited. Industrial grade contains trace heavy metals and chlorides, only applicable for ordinary industrial production, water treatment and textile processing, and forbidden for food contact, high-end battery and pharmaceutical synthesis. Food-grade potassium hydroxide is deeply purified with impurities complying with food safety standards, exclusively used for food processing and food equipment cleaning. Battery-grade is ultra-high purity with ultra-low impurities, specially designed for battery electrolyte manufacturing to ensure battery stability and service life. It cannot be replaced by industrial grade, otherwise it will cause battery performance degradation and scrapping.
Q7: Why does potassium hydroxide easily agglomerate and deteriorate? What are the storage requirements?
Potassium hydroxide has strong hygroscopicity and carbon dioxide adsorption capacity, making it prone to deterioration. When exposed to air, it absorbs moisture rapidly to deliquesce and agglomerate, and reacts with carbon dioxide to form potassium carbonate, resulting in reduced purity and failure of efficacy. It shall be stored in a cool, dry, airtight and ventilated warehouse dedicated for strong alkali chemicals, with ambient humidity controlled below 60%. Keep fully sealed at all times and avoid moisture exposure. Store separately from acids, oxidants and water sources, and elevate the stacked goods for moisture prevention.
Q8: What is the standard packaging and transportation precautions of potassium hydroxide?
Industrial-grade potassium hydroxide is packed in 25kg double-layer packaging with inner plastic bag and outer woven bag. High-end battery-grade and food-grade products adopt moisture-proof sealed cardboard drums to prevent moisture and leakage. Classified as Class 8 corrosive hazardous chemical, potassium hydroxide requires qualified hazardous chemical transportation. Keep packaging intact and sealed during transportation, avoid rain, sunlight and moisture. It is forbidden to transport together with strong acids, oxidants, edible chemicals and flammable & explosive materials. Operators shall wear professional protective equipment during handling, operate gently and avoid package damage and material leakage.
Q9: What is the shelf life of potassium hydroxide? Can damp and agglomerated products still be used?
The shelf life is 12 months under sealed, dry and normal temperature storage conditions. Slightly damp and agglomerated potassium hydroxide without whitening and deterioration can be used for general industrial neutralization and water treatment after passing purity inspection. Seriously deliquesced, hardened and whitened products (produced potassium carbonate impurities) with significantly reduced purity are not allowed for fine chemical production, daily chemical manufacturing, battery preparation and food processing, and shall be scrapped if impurities exceed the standard.
