Caustic soda flakes are one of the few chemicals where a shipment can fail before the goods themselves do - damaged bags, corroded pallets and rejected containers generate most of the claims in this trade. Most of those losses trace back to packaging and loading decisions made at the origin. Here is what a clean shipment looks like.
Classification First
Solid NaOH at 98-99% ships as UN 1823, sodium hydroxide solid, Class 8 corrosive, packing group II. That classification drives everything downstream: the hazard labels on the bags and container doors, the segregation rules in the freight forwarder's warehouse, and the port documentation. Buyers who quote the UN number on the purchase order save a round of questions at booking.
Bag and Pallet Choices
- Standard export pack: 25 kg woven PP bags with an inner PE liner. The liner is not optional - flakes are hygroscopic, and unprotected bags cake in a humid monsoon port.
- Palletized or not: a 20' FCL takes 25 MT floor-loaded, or 23 MT palletized. Floor-loading wins on freight cost per ton; pallets win on discharge speed and bag damage rates. For Africa and South Asia destinations with rough port handling, pallets are usually the cheaper choice once claims are counted.
- Brand sourcing: DSC Trading supplies flakes from Zhongtai, Tianye, China Salt, Yuanlong and other name-brand mills - the brand matters because producer consistency, not the shipping company, drives most quality disputes.
Loading Details That Prevent Claims
- Dry, clean container - any water ingress becomes a lye puddle that eats the bags it touches.
- Keep the load off the door end where rain hits during discharge; shift the last rows inward and brace them.
- No co-loading with acids, chlorinators or foodstuffs - Class 8 segregation applies inside the container too.
- Photograph the stuffing sequence; claims settle faster when the loading record is unambiguous.
Every lot ships with COA and MSDS, and SGS inspection can be arranged before container sealing. If your destination port has specific labelling language or container requirements, tell us at inquiry stage and we will pack to that standard instead of discovering it in a customs shed.