why is NaOH used instead of KOH for preparation of K2Cr2O7? I have been told by my teacher that we use NaOH for the first step of preparation of potassium dichromate to form sodium chromate, which then reacts with conc H2SO4 to form sodium dichromate. Then it undergoes a double displacement reaction with KCl to form K2Cr2O7..My question is that why cant we directly use KOH in the first step so that we dont have to use the third step?
Manufacturers usually prefer sodium hydroxide over potassium hydroxide because it is cheaper. Sometimes, NaOH is preferred because a smaller quantity (as compared to KOH) serves the purpose. And also the product from by KOH is much more soluble than NaOH, make it harder to extract than using NaOH.