Can lye be from baking soda, water, heat and electricity?

[aaronej]

Can one make lye from baking soda, water, heat and electricity?

I am a Peace Corps volunteer in Chadiza, Zambia trying to do a soap making project because I am often asked for soap and it is something that can be made completely naturally. The problem is that the villagers want something that works on the first try, and making lye using ash is a process that takes some time. I looked at buying some but it is next to impossible to get without importing 300kg's worth. Then I thought that there ought to be some other chemical mechanism and I found the use of water, salt and energy (electricity and water). The only problem with this is it releases chloride into the air which is a safety hazard. My question is, is there any reason you cannot reverse the process of making soda, (sodium bicarbonate) CO2 + 2 NaOH → Na2CO3 + H2O? Can you do the same method used with salt? Thank you for any information that can be provided.

 

[Saltysteele]

i've read online of someone suggesting this, but really, without expensive equipment, you'd have no idea what your lye concentration would be (important)

 

[carebear]

you can make soap from the "lye" gathered from dripping water through ashes. It's not sodium hydroxide, though - and you need to take some extra steps. I'm going to suggest you contact Dr Kevin Dunn, our favorite Caveman Chemist who may be able to help you. I'll PM you the contact info.

 

[JenniferSews]

My chemist hubby found this-

Yes, also according to my book, Soda-lime process, basically, is the reaction:

Ca(OH)2 + Na2CO3 --> CaCO3 + 2NaOH.

The CaCO3 (calcium carbonate) precipitates because it's highly insoluble, and NaOH remain in solution. So, the role of carbon is to make an insoluble compound of Ca, leaving NaOH in solution.

Ca(OH)2 is made from CaO and water. CaO is made heating CaCO3 at temperatures higher than 900°C.

The same could be achieved, for example, with Na2SO4 or NaF or Na3PO4 or...:
CaSO4, CaF, Ca3(PO4)2... are insoluble as well.

on this site- http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum ... _next=prev

He said to mention that CaO (bolding is mine) is lime, a common fertilizer. I don't know if that helps, I'm to tired to learn chemistry after working a bad 12 hour shift!