Specification :

Sodium formate can be prepared in the laboratory by neutralizing formic acid with sodium carbonate. It can also be obtained by reacting chloroform with an alcoholic solution of sodium hydroxide.

CHCl3 + 4NaOH ’ HCOONa + 3NaCl + 2H2O
or by reacting sodium hydroxide with chloral hydrate.

C2HCl3( OH) 2 + NaOH ’ CHCl3 + HCOONa + H2O
The latter method is, in general, preferred to the former because the low aqueous solubility of CHCl3 makes it easier to separate out from the sodium formate solution, by fractional crystallization, than the soluble NaCl would be.

For commercial use, sodium formate is produced by absorbing carbon monoxide under pressure in solid sodium hydroxide at 160 ° C.

CO + NaOH ’ HCOONa
Sodium formate may also be created via the haloform reaction between ethanol and sodium hypochlorite in the presence of a base. This procedure is well documented for the preparation of chloroform.