According to Nikkei, the price of caustic soda, an important industrial chemical, has risen in Japan for the first time in four years. Amid the ongoing Middle East crisis driving up raw material and fuel costs, chemical companies cited rising equipment maintenance and logistics costs as reasons for the price increase, which was ultimately accepted by downstream customers. This will contribute to rising costs in several industries, including papermaking and water treatment. Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) is an industrial chemical produced by the electrolysis of brine and has a wide range of uses, including extracting papermaking fibers from wood and serving as a neutralizing agent in factory wastewater treatment.
