Sodium carbonate also known as soda ash, washing soda most basic industrial chemicals produced from trona ore used in manufacture of glass, paper, soaps detergents, water softening

1. Major Industrial applications of
Sodium Carbonate/ Washing Soda
Article written and published
By
www.worldofchemicals.com

2. INTRODUCTION
 What is soda ash?
 What is washing soda?
 What is the chemical name of soda ash and washing
soda?
 Sodium carbonate is the chemical name for soda ash
and washing soda. Major source of soda ash is trona
ore. Sodium carbonate occurs naturally in arid
regions. It is found in the form of deposits on locations
where lakes evaporate. Sodium carbonate is one of
the most basic industrial chemicals. It is found in large
natural deposits and is mined in Wyoming.
 Deposits of sodium carbonate are found in large
quantities in different regions of the world but major
locations include United States, China, Botswana,
Uganda, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, India, Egypt, South
Africa and Turkey. It is found both as extensive beds
of sodium minerals and as sodium-rich waters

3. Principal Applications of Sodium
Carbonate
 The principal applications of sodium carbonate are in
the manufacture of glass and the production of
chemicals. It is also used in processing wood pulp to
make paper, in making soaps and detergents, in
refining aluminum, in water softening, and in many
other applications.
 It can help remove alcohol and grease stains from
clothing, as well as calcifications in everything from
coffee pots and espresso makers to boilers and hot
water heaters.
 Soda ash can also be used to increase the alkalinity
in swimming pools, helping to ensure the proper pH
balance of the water. It can be used in dying to help
the dye bond to the fabric effectively. Photographers
also use a sodium carbonate solution as part of
thephoto development process.

4. Sodium carbonate as washing soda
 Washing soda has significant economic importance
because of its applications in manufacturing glass,
chemicals, paper, detergents and many other
products. It has been used since ancient times
 Sodium carbonate is having characteristics like white,
anhydrous, powdered or granular material. Soda ash
is an alkali that has a high ph in concentrated
solutions. It can irritate the eyes, respiratory tract and
skin. It should not be ingested. Soda ash is made in
three important grades – light grade, intermediate
grade, and dense grade.
 Anhydrous sodium carbonate loses weight when
heated
 Na2CO3(solid) → Na2O (solid) + CO2 (gas)

5. How to transport soda ash?
 Light and dense soda ash is normally packaged
in plastic or polyethylene lined bags, multiwall
paper bags. Covered hopper cars with bottom
discharge are the most common rail cars used for
bulk soda ash.
 Sodium carbonate is a fragile, crystalline product
subject to breakage from conveying equipment.
Soda ash generates micron-sized particles that
require high-efficiency collectors.
 Soda ash is usually stored in warehouse for a
short time. It can be stored in bulk as a pile on the
floor and reclaimed by a front-end loader or other
bulk-handling machine.

6. Soda ash production
 The Leblanc process, the first successful commercial
process for making soda, is no longer used in the
United States but played a major role in the Industrial
Revolution.
 Soda ash can be made synthetically using limestone,
salt and ammonia. This is known as the Solvay
process, and was the main source of soda ash until
the Wyoming trona deposits were discovered.
However, it is more expensive than mining natural
sodium carbonate deposits.
 A series of refining steps are required to produce
soda ash from trona ore. First the raw ore from the
mine is crushed and screened. The material is then
fed to rotary calciners and heated. In this process, the
trona decomposes to form crude soda ash, which is
dissolved in water.

7. Soda ash production Cont ..
 The insoluble shales are separated from the solution
by a combination of settling and filtration steps and
the resulting insoluble tailings are taken back into the
mine as backfill. The soda ash solution is treated to
remove organic materials yielding a high-purity
saturated solution of sodium carbonate.
 Next, the solution is fed to crystallizers where water is
evaporated and sodium carbonate monohydrate
crystals are formed. The industry-familiar term "monoprocess" originates from this process step. The
crystals are dewatered and washed using cyclones
and centrifuges, and the solution is recycled to the
evaporator units for further recovery of soda ash. The
monohydrate crystals are fed to rotary kilns where
they are dried to finished soda ash. Finally, product is
screened and sent to storage silos awaiting rail and

8. Soda Ash / Washing Soda
Applications
 Soda ash also is used to clean the air and soften water. As
environmental concerns grow, demand increases for soda
ash used in the removal of sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric
acid from stack gases.
 Chemical manufacturers use soda ash as an intermediate
to manufacture products that sweeten soft drinks (corn
sweeteners), relieve physical discomfort (sodium
bicarbonate) and improve foods and toiletries
(phosphates). Household detergents and paper products
are a few other common examples of readily identifiable
products using soda ash.
 Light soda ash is one of the most important basic industrial
chemicals. Light soda ash is used to regulate pH in many
chemical process streams. The superior buffering capacity
of soda ash versus caustic soda offers advantages in
adjusting plant wastewater pH ranges.

9. Soda Ash Applications Cont …
 Soda ash is used as the sodium source for
sodium sulfite/bi-sulfite pulping liquors used in the
sulfite, CMP, and CTMP processes, and in NSSC
pulping.
 It is also possible to replace a portion of the
caustic soda with sodium carbonate in many pulp
bleaching applications such as caustic extraction
or hydrogen peroxide bleaching of mechanical or
chemical pulps.
 It is also possible to replace a portion of the
caustic soda in many pulp bleaching applications
such as caustic extraction or hydrogen peroxide
bleaching of mechanical or chemical pulps.

10. Soda Ash Applications Cont …
 In addition, washing soda is the most widely used
fixed alkali for the manufacture of other alkali
products, sodium salts, glass, soap, sodium silicates,
detergent, bicarbonates, bichromates, cellulose and
rayon, iron and steel, aluminum, cleaning compounds,
textiles and dyestuffs, drugs and many other
materials. It is also used as an alkali for household
purposes and as washing powder by laundries.
 One of the most common products that can be made
with soda ash is glass. More than 50 per cent of all
sodium carbonate produced around the world is used
for this purpose. When mixed in proportion with sand
and calcium carbonate, heated to the right
temperature, and then cooled quickly, the end result is

11. Soda Ash Applications Cont …
 Soda ash is a very common industrial chemical as
well. In addition to food and cosmetic products, it’s
also finds major applications in agricultural sector
chemicals such as fertilizers. When it comes to
exhaust towers and chemical stacks, this ash can
play a very important role in air purification because
when sodium carbonate reacts with sulfur dioxide and
hydrochloric acid, for example, less harmful
compounds are produced.
 In laboratories, this sodium salt serves as an excellent
electrolyte in the electrolysis process. It helps to
reduce the water content in the clay and makes the
task of molding the clay in the shape of a brick easier.
In the dyeing industry, it is used to improve the
chemical bonding between the dye and the fiber.

12. Soda Ash Applications Cont …
 Washing soda is a key component of laundry soaps
and other household cleaning products as it can
easily remove dirt and tough greasy stains from
clothes, utensils, floors, and various other surfaces. It
is also used as a cleansing agent for removing dirt
stuck on silver and glass items. Water in the
swimming pools turns acidic due to repeated addition
of chlorine as a disinfectant. Washing soda is added
to this water to make it chemically neutral.
 Sodium carbonate is important in taxidermy for
preparing hunting trophies. When added to boiling
water, it helps in the removal of flesh from the skulls
and bones of dead animals. Washing soda acts as a
strong base and can neutralize acidic effects.

13. References
 1] © From, http://www.cefic.org/Documents/About-
Us/Industry%20sectors/ESAPA_Soda_Ash_Process_
BREF3.pdf
 [2] © From,
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/0024
86.htm
 [3] © From,
http://www.genchem.com/pdf/SodaAshTech.pdf
 [4] © From,
http://www.mineralseducationcoalition.org/minerals/so
dium-carbonate-soda-ash-or-trona
 http://www.worldofchemicals.com/wocart/439/interesti
ng-facts-about-soda-ash-washing-soda-sodiumcarbonate.html