Comments by "Anders Juel Jensen" (@andersjjensen) on "China‘s Iron Grip on the Rare Earth Magnet" video.

Small correction: Sodium Hydroxide is not an acid. Quite the contrary, it's a very strong base.
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@christopherkelley2061 If you need a base stronger than a fully saturated NaOH solution at 95C you're doing some seriously questionable things! :P
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@ArawnOfAnnwn A solution that is saturated with NaOH at near boiling temperatures has a PH of around 15. That is, we're well into the realm where the PH scale starts to break down and the values become practically meaningless. I can't think of any reaction that requires more causticity than that though. Which means you're either at the boundaries of science or you're just trying to cook meth faster. Given that we're in the youtube comment section I think we can safely rule out the former and broadly conclude that the latter qualifies as "seriously questionable" without further scrutiny. Hope your friend is understanding of my predisposition.
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@ArawnOfAnnwn The academic literature is a bit sparse on this particular subject, but it is worth noting that reactions involving hyper caustic solutions at elevated temperatures has a tendency to violently thrust-boil which leads to... less than safe working conditions. Perhaps sacrificing a bit of reaction speed for safety is worth considering. Any excess causticity can be neutralised with hydrochloric acid afterwards, and the neutral solution is drain safe. It would, incidentally, also work great as a fertilizer if care is taken to not require too much neutralization afterwards, as the resulting sodium chloride (table salt) will harm plants. This option obviously only applies if the meat in question wasn't previously poisoned with lead, mercury or, as a random example, polonium, prior to disposal.
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