Jump to content

making potassium hydroxide


chuckie walters

Recommended Posts

I'm not a chemist, but I believe KOH is made from such a solution through electrolysis. It requires an electric current and there are other significant considerations to accomplishing it. You can't do it effectively and safely on your own unless you're a chemical engineer. Plus you'd have to figure out what to do with the poisonous chlorine gas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm no chemist either but that doesn't sound right. IMHO just buy the KOH online. The Chemistry Store carries it and so does AAA Chemical I think.

I know that soap in the ol' days was made with potash. You can find plenty of info online on how to make potash by running rain water through wood ash but I wouldn't know how to calculate the potash to fat ratios to make soap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The reason i ask is because i saw a reciepe for crockpot liquid soap and it calls for potassium choloride.The lady says that when you add the pottasium chloride to the distilled water in the crock pot it forms pottasium hydroxide while the soap is cooking.Ever heard of this? Thanks:)

There's something wrong, there.

Like Top said, you'd have chlorine gas as a by product. If a lot of people were trying to do this, there'd be a lot fewer people making soap. The chlorine gas is deadly even in small amounts. It was used as a weapon in WWI. It turns the moisture in your lungs into hydrochloric acid.

This link verifies what Top was saying about electrolysis.

So if you short circuit your crock pot, it might work. And if you have a gas mask, you might actually survive it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
the author's advice on a number of things is suspect (such as How to Strip Epoxy Paint From Floors Using Muriatic Acid)

I'd say that his having an article on "How to Paint Mobile Home Cabinets" should give you an idea about this person.

He's probably only writing these to earn money to get a set of these for his house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I looked at that recipe and I think she got her chemical names mixed up. If you want to make a liquid soap you need KOH (i.e. potassium hydroxide). Buy some KOH from an online supplier and find a good liquid soap recipe and run it through the soap calc.

I don't think you could get lye from potassium chloride and distilled water any more than you could get sodium hydroxide from table salt (i.e. sodium chloride) and water. At least not in your crockpot lol! Both have to go through a process of electrolysis.

As for producing chlorine gas I can't find any reference to boiling potassium chloride in water to create chlorine gas. Chlorine gas can be produce by mixing bleach with ammonia. Not something I recommend unless you want to die a gruesome death.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...