Sodium hydride. Properties, description and application.

Before you understand what the properties of sodium hydride, you need to find out what it is, where it is applied and how important it is. These questions will not be answered by everyone, nevertheless, ignorance of such information does not speak at all of the uselessness of this substance. Just like other sodium compounds, it is actively used in industry.

Let's try to understand these issues and start, perhaps, with the definition and description of this connection. Thus, sodium hydride is a complex inorganic substance having the formula NaH, a grayish-white or white hygroscopic powder. It is obtained by reacting and mixing in an inert liquid hydrogen gas and metallic sodium. This substance is used for carboxylation, alkylation and acylation of weak C-H-acids. As a result of the interaction of this compound with water , sodium hydroxide (sodium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide) is obtained.

So, now directly about the properties of sodium hydride. First of all, it is neutrality with respect to metals, which under standard conditions are prone to corrosion. When using this substance, despite all sorts of scratches, roughness and defects in the outer surface of the metal, it is evenly distributed and protects the surface. Sodium hydride is convenient to use in mineral oil or other hydrocarbons in the form of suspensions. To get this complex you need to heat up to 100 degrees. Sodium hydride melts at 800 degrees Celsius, but it happens exclusively under pressure.

This substance, as well as calcium hydride, titanium and zirconium, favorably affects rubber vulcanizates. In them, it is introduced immediately before the vulcanization process in the form of dispersions in vaseline, paraffin or mineral oil. Sodium hydride by some of its physical properties is similar to sodium chloride, but its production is slightly heavier and more expensive. Therefore, the scope of sodium hydride is due to the unique properties that this sodium compound alone possesses. But the chemical processes that occur with the participation of sodium chloride and sodium hydride, are significantly different.

Sodium hydride is actively used for the reduction of titanium. And it is in those cases when recovery is required in sufficiently large volumes, that is, it is an industrial scale. It is this property of this hydride that has found an active application in heavy industry and in the automotive industry. Sodium hydride is also used in metallurgy, where it is necessary to separate groups of rare metals from various compounds, which can not be distinguished by other catalysts. He received active use in other branches of the national economy. As can be seen from all the above facts, sodium hydride is a rather important chemical compound, which is actively used in industrial production.

Now a few words about the production of sodium hydride on an industrial scale. In the production of sodium hydride, a small amount of this compound is left in the reservoir and molten sodium is supplied to its surface. The tank - a horizontal batch reactor - is a container inside which is a screw with two blades. Due to this design, material is circulated within the reactor. It is very important to monitor the supply of sodium and hydrogen, because with incorrect proportions, this hydride can be produced in the liquid phase. This phenomenon can also occur with an improper temperature regime (an increase in temperature above the permissible value).