Is there a way to get large amounts of -OH from water? Some kind of base with a lower pka than water should do the trick to convert water to -OH, but are there any bases that fit that bill that are plentiful and affordable.
You can buy Soudium Hydroxide for around $300 a ton IIRC. Is that what you’re after?
You mean lower pKb.
You can also add sodium bicarbonate to water - if a buffer you need.
Or hydrolyse sea water (saline solution) to give a solution of OH[sup]-[/sup]… as well as chlorine and hydrogen gases.
Adding a base doesn’t “get” OH from the water; it get’s the OH- from the base. Ion exchange can swap the hydronium ion for another cation, say Na+, but, you’ll only get 1.7 ug of OH- water per liter of water, and there’s a limited amount of water you can put through the system before it neeeds to be “recharged.”
Ammonia comes to mind.
au contraire, only hydroxide (and maybe oxide) bases add OH- (e.g NaOH). All other bases take an H+ from water to leave OH- e.g. ammonia (NH3 + H2O = NH4+ + OH-)
The cheapest base is possibly Ca(OH)2 from heating limestone - not a very strong base. Sodium hydroxide is probably similar price or perhaps even cheaper.
good point; I stand corrected (in my defense, I can only claim…“it was late.”)