The absorption of sulphur dioxide from effluent gases by using aqueous sodium hydroxide solution as a solvent has become established practice in industry where a high degree of purity of the effluent gases must be ensured in a reliable manner. Although it has long been known that it is basically possible to clean effluent gases containing sulphur dioxide effectively by using sodium hydroxide solution, there are only few publications to date which discuss the reaction‐kinetic processes in the wash solution.