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Solvay Process for Soda Ash Production

The document describes the Solvay process for manufacturing soda ash (sodium carbonate). The process uses inexpensive and readily available raw materials like salt brine and limestone. Carbon dioxide and ammonia are recovered and reused, making it an efficient process. It involves bubbling carbon dioxide and ammonia into a salt brine solution to form sodium bicarbonate precipitate. The sodium bicarbonate is then thermally decomposed to produce high purity soda ash. The only byproduct is calcium chloride solution.

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Muhammad Rafique
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8K views8 pages

Solvay Process for Soda Ash Production

The document describes the Solvay process for manufacturing soda ash (sodium carbonate). The process uses inexpensive and readily available raw materials like salt brine and limestone. Carbon dioxide and ammonia are recovered and reused, making it an efficient process. It involves bubbling carbon dioxide and ammonia into a salt brine solution to form sodium bicarbonate precipitate. The sodium bicarbonate is then thermally decomposed to produce high purity soda ash. The only byproduct is calcium chloride solution.

Uploaded by

Muhammad Rafique
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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

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