Storing large quantities of KOH

Question

I need to handle large quantities of $\ce{KOH}$; close to 1000 liters of 85 % conc $\ce{KOH}$ for about an hour. Any suggestions on how I go about doing it? Also the temperature during the process might touch 500 degrees Celsius.

Answer 1

The first thing to clear up is – Why do you need to store 1000 L of KOH in liquid form? It is as others have pointed out, very concerning that someone who is planning to store this quantity needs to ask on the internet.

My advice is don't store 1000 L of liquid KOH, store 40 × 25 L of liquid KOH. This will reduce the risk considerably, and help ensure that a single leak isn't a catastrophic event, but is something you can deal with. This is a common philosophy, and is used, for example, in trailers of dangerous gases, which are organized into racks of 20 smaller gas bottles instead of one large tank.

Keep your 25 L containers off the floor in a bunded area for spill containment, and have appropriate means to deal with a spill. I'm not going to tell you the best way to handle a spill because I don't know. – You need to find out. Also, make sure the store is properly monitored to detect any problems.

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Now, going back to my initial point: Let's accept that, for whatever reason, you need to store 1000 L of KOH (as you haven't shared with us what you are doing.) Solid KOH is much safer than liquid KOH, so why do you even need to mix up the solution all at once?

One of the causes of the Bhopal disaster (the worst industrial disaster ever, which killed many thousands of people due an uncontrolled venting event) was the unnecessary storage of a toxic and volatile compound (methyl isocyanate.) If the pesticide they were making had been synthesized via a different route, or even if the methyl isocyanate had been made only in the quantities needed, the size of the disaster could have been reduced or even eliminated (despite the extremely poor state of maintenance of the plant.)

I suggest you mix up the KOH in small batches as you need it to reduce the risk

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the temperature in the process might touch 500 degrees Celsius

By "process" I assume you mean mixing solid KOH with water, and that you do not actually need to use the KOH at this temperature. If you expect to reach these temperatures, you are doing it wrong. As can be seen from https://koh.olinchloralkali.com/TechnicalInformation/Phase%20Diagram%200-80.pdf KOH solution in all compositions from 0 to 85% is liquid at below 150 °C. Note also that concentrations above 50% are solid at room temperature – so do you really mean 85% conc KOH?

The safe way to do this is to add the dangerous material to the safe material, particularly as water has such a high heat capacity and can lose heat by boiling. You are going to need either a lot of patience, or mechanical screw feeder, to perform the addition at a safe rate. You will also need decent stirring equipment. Also, I would expect most of the heat will be released in mixing the first 50% of the KOH, because after that you are effectively mixing KOH with KOH.

In any case, if you are planning to do this, you should check the thermochemistry yourself and include it in your Risk Assessment, along with any relevant details from industry experience regarding specific hazards of mixing (spattering for example?)

I really hope you make sure what you doing before you do this. Alkalis are a lot worse on human flesh than acids, partly because they turn the oils in your skin to soap, and partly because the spills won't evaporate and therefore persist until something is done about them.

It would be a good idea to dye your KOH so you know where any spills are. I personally have spilt 50L of antifreeze solution in the lab (it was intentionally dyed beforehand in case of spills, and needless to say we used propylene glycol as it is much less toxic than the ethylene glycol used in car radiators.) Whatever you intend, something in your experiment will go wrong.

Please also check the legal aspects in your area. Also, consult with your supplier! The fact that you need to ask on the internet instead of talking to them suggests you are up to something unusual. Would you care to share with us what it is?

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EDIT - Now you've clarified you're an engineer, one more very important point. Keep KOH away from aluminium. Alkali will dissolve the oxide layer that protects aluminium from corrosion, and unmask the true (very high) reactivity of the metal. A lot of heat and hydrogen gas will be generated by the reaction $\ce{3 KOH + Al -> K3AlO3 + 2/3 H2}$.

I'm guessing most stainless steels should be fine (but obviously check.) I have used equipment from the catering industry in some experiments, but stay away from stainless steel cookware that has the base thickened with aluminium. Even though it is external, it's not worth the risk.

Also, note that mixtures of acids and bases with water are often most corrosive at a medium concentration, so don't assume that just because a material is OK at 90% concentration, it's going to be OK at 50% concentration.

Answer 2

Various stainless steels resist boiling saturated aquous $\ce{KOH}$, such as DIN X6CrMo17 (ASI 434), DIN X5CrNi1911 (ASI 305).

Dont't forget about a suitable and sufficiently large reservoir around the tank in case of spills, valve breaks, etc.