Soda Ash manufacturing

USES of Soda Ash

 General Information
• Sodium carbonate occur naturally in arid regions.
• Sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, also known as
washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals.
• All forms are white, water-soluble salts and have
a strongly alkaline taste and give moderately
alkaline solutions in water.
• Decahydrate, Na2CO3·10H2O, Heptahydrate,
Na2CO3·7H2O, Monohydrate, Na2CO3·H2O. All
three mineralogical forms of sodium carbonate, as
well as trona.
 Soda Ash Solvay Process/Ammonia-
soda process
• It is the major industrial process for the production of
sodium carbonate (Soda Ash, Na2CO3).
• The ingredients/Raw material for this are readily available
and inexpensive: salt brine (from inland sources or from the
sea) and limestone (from quarries).
• It is a cheap process as raw materials are available at very
low prices.
• Carbon dioxide and ammonia are recovered and reused.
• Process is pollution free, because the only waste is calcium
chloride solution.
• Sodium carbonate of very high purity is obtained.
• Consumption of fuel is very less since no solution is to be
evaporated.
 Chemistry of Solvay Process
• The overall process is:
2 NaCl + CaCO3 → Na2CO3 + CaCl2
• In the first step in the process, carbon dioxide (CO2) passes through
a concentrated aqueous solution of sodium chloride (table salt,
NaCl) and ammonia (NH3).
NaCl + CO2 + NH3 + H2O → NaHCO3 + NH4Cl
• The sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) that precipitates out in above
reaction is filtered out from the hot ammonium chloride (NH4Cl)
solution, and the solution is then reacted with the quicklime
(calcium oxide (CaO)) left over from heating the limestone in step.
CaCO3 → CO2 + CaO
2 NH4Cl + CaO → 2 NH3 (Re-use)+ CaCl2 + H2O
• Sodium carbonate (washing soda: Na2CO3), by calcination (160–230
°C), producing water and carbon dioxide as byproducts:
2 NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 + H2O + CO2(Re-Use)
Chemistry of Solvay Process
Process Flow Diagram