Soda ash - this substance, of course, is familiar to everyone and almost everyone knows at least a few examples of where it can be used. The official name of the substance is sodium carbonate, the formula is Na2CO3. Externally, soda ash is a white powder; it can also be presented in the form of granules of the same color. There is another name for this compound - soda ash, but there should be no misconception in this regard that it is not the soda that we are used to in everyday life. It is also called so because the production of a substance is associated with the process of calcining and dehydration of sodium crystalline hydrate at high temperature.
Carbonated soda is one of the oldest known substances in the history of mankind. Even the artifacts of Ancient Egypt contain information about the substance sodium carbonate, the formula of which, of course, was written much later. Papyruses tell us that in Egypt this compound was obtained from lakes, as well as from ash obtained by burning plants containing alkalis. It should be noted that Egypt remained the largest producer and supplier of soda to the world market until the end of the XVII century, becoming a world maritime power, Spain joined Egypt as a leading supplier of soda ash. Industrialization, the development of new industries required an increasing amount of this valuable substance, and therefore, in 1775, the French Academy, at the initiative of famous encyclopedists, organized an open competition to develop an industrial method for producing carbonic soda. The winner of this "chemical competition" was the famous French pharmacist and experimental scientist Nikolai Leblanc, who for the first time in 1792 received an industrial way of sodium carbonate, the formula of which he wrote as Na2CO3. LeBlanc's work was a reaction to obtain a substance from sodium chloride with the participation of natural mixtures of chalk and sodium sulfate. The reaction resulted in a melt consisting of Na2C03 and CaS, from which sodium carbonate was leached with water, the formula of the substance was Na2CO3.
LeBlanc's method for a long time became the main one for industry. According to some researchers, the construction of soda plants led to an increase in urban agglomerations and the concentration of population in cities. Soda production also contributed to the development of other areas of the chemical industry, for example, such as the production of sulfuric and nitric acids.
The development of soda production contributed to the development of raw material bases for the extraction of pyrite, table salt, and saltpeter.
Only half a century later, the Leblanc method created a rival - the ammonia method of soda production. It was a step forward, so it required less labor, heat, raw materials, and, as a result, was much cheaper.
It was the cheapening of production that contributed to the emergence of such a compound as sodium bicarbonate, the preparation of which contributed to the expansion of its use as a food product, now known under the name of food additive E-500 - baking soda.
The chemical properties of carbonic soda are as follows. The substance is hygroscopic, that is, it absorbs moisture very well, which, for sure, more than once, everyone was convinced.
In addition to water, it absorbs carbon dioxide, which is part of the air. This should be considered when storing the substance. The nature of the interaction of soda with liquids depends mainly on the level of humidity and temperature.
When a compound is heated, it decomposes into carbon dioxide and oxide. Soda interacts with acids, for example, sodium carbonate, hydrochloric acid form carbon dioxide as a result of interaction with each other.
Sodium carbonate is used in the industrial production of glass, varnishes and paints, soaps and detergents. Its properties allow the use of this compound in oil refining, paper making, caustic soda and the production of sodium salts.