So a while back I stumbled upon a method to convert sodium carbonate and calcium hydroxide into Sodium Hydroxide and Calcium Carbonate. (PLEASE use adequate safety measures when implementing these methods)
Here is a link to the process that I used
http://www.google.com/patents/US5993772
There is a lot of room to play around with the ratios of sodium carbonate to calcium hydroxide, temperatures of water, filtering, and reducing (not necessary) of the end product.
So I have used this method a few times now, and I can confirm that it works. As of yet, I have been unable to maximize the efficiency of the process though. It is definitely worth it financially though, and especially worth it if you want to be extra discreet (don't like purchasing sodium hydroxide)
Here is how I did mine.
Materials needed
- Stainless steel pot (I used a 15 gallon pot)
- (2) Hdpe 2 Plastic buckets ( I used 5 gallon buckets)
- Stirring device
- Saftey Goggles
- Quality Chemical Resistant Gloves
- Sodium Carbonate
- Calcium Hydroxide (50lb bag from an agricultural supply store)
- Water
- heat source
- Large scale (not absolutely necessary)
(These are just my measurements. This tek can be scaled larger and smaller very easily)
Heat up about 9.5 Gallons of water in stainless steel pot to around 150 degrees Fahrenheit (not exact)
Weigh out 9lbs of Sodium carbonate. Place in a 5 Gallon bucket. Pour 3.5 gallons of heated water into the bucket and stir.
Weigh out 10 lbs of Calcium Hydroxide. Pour into Stainless steel pot that contains about 6 gallons of water. Stir.
Continue stirring until the Sodium Carb has dissolved completely into the water, and the water has become clear again. The Calcium Hydroxide will not dissolve well (or at all?).
Once the sodium carbonate has dissolved, take the water saturated with sodium carbonate and pour into the 15 gallon stainless steel pot with the Calcium hydroxide. Stir every couple of minutes for between 30 minutes and 1 hr.
After 1 hour it's probably good to let the solution settle for a couple of hours, or even over night. The solution will separate ''somewhat''. The sodium hydroxide is soluble in the water, so the water is what you want to keep. You can decant some water off of the top, but most will be difficult to separate completely from the calcium carbonate which is the solid white stuff in the mix. If you have a couple of other hdpe 2 buckets around, you can can filter it with a t shirt ( attach a t shirt to the top of the bucket and pour the contents of the stainless steel pot through the t shirt. Most of the liquid will go through. Let the liquid settle and decant again)
Once you have your lye water you can use it straight away, or store it in the hdpe 2 bucket for late use. I have not seen the need to evaporate the water to retrieve lye crystals. I can't comment on the exact yield of this process, but I know for me it is entirely worth it! One can add water to the Calcium Carbonate again and re filter. There is a lot of Lye/water that gets stuck in the ''Calcium Carbonate Goo''. I'm guessing up to 50% of the end product is left in the ''calcium carbonate goo'' after the first rinse.
Once some more people do this, maybe we can get a very nice tek developed for this method....
All you diy-er's Enjoy
