Soda Ash
Soda Ash is the common name for sodium carbonate, which is a chemical compound with the formula Na2CO3. This compound is also known as washing soda and soda crystals. Soda ash can be categorized as an inorganic compound. It can be noted that all hydrates of sodium carbonate are referred to as soda ash. It can also be noted that all these forms of sodium carbonate are white solids under standard conditions. Soda ash is water-soluble and is known to form slightly alkaline solutions when dissolved in water. It is an essential raw material used in the manufacture of glass, detergents and soaps, chemicals, and other industrial products.
Technical Properties
Synonyms: SODIUM CARBONATE; Soda Ash; Disodium carbonate; Carbonic acid disodium salt.
Cas Number: 497-19-8
Molecular Weight: 105.988 g/mol
Color: Grayish-white powder or lumps containing up to 99% sodium carbonate
Odor: Odorless
Taste: Tasteless
Melting Point: 856 °C
Density: 2.54 g/cu cm
pH: At 25 °C, the pH of 1, 5 and 10 wt% sodium carbonate solutions are 11.37, 11.58 and 11.70, respectively.
Applications
Soda ash is widely used as a cleaning agent for several domestic purposes such as the washing of clothes. It is also known to be an important component of several dry soap powders.
Soda ash functions as a silica flux, working to reduce the melting point of the mixture without any need for special materials. The resulting “soda glass” is slightly water-soluble, so the melt mixture is added with some calcium carbonate to make the glass insoluble. The melting of such blends of sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, and silica sand (also known as silicon dioxide) creates bottle and window glass (soda-lime glass).