Sodium Carbonate
Washing soda or soda ash is what this compound is most commonly
referred to as. Sodium carbonate is a substance that is primarily used in one’s
everyday cleaning products; hence the name washing soda. This compound is also
used in the making of other useful items, making it one of the most basic
industrial chemicals. Sodium carbonate, discovered in 1791 by a French chemist,
Nicholas LeBlanc, became useful by combining together salt, sulfuric acid,
limestone and coal. (1)
Sodium carbonate is composed of the individual elements sodium,
carbon and oxygen. In chemical formula form, this compound is written as Na2CO3.
This tells you that sodium carbonate contains two atoms of sodium, one molecule
of carbon, and three molecules of oxygen. (2) At room temperature, sodium
carbonate is a grayish white, crystalline, odorless powder. At 851 degrees
Celsius or 1564 degrees Fahrenheit, this compound will melt. In conditions where
the compound is exposed to effervescent acids, it will decompose and form
bubbles. Also, sodium carbonate is noncombustible. This means that this compound
is not capable of being burned. Since it is noncombustible, sodium carbonate is
not affected by fire and remains stable under typical conditions. This compounds
pH measures 11.6 on a 0 to14 scale. This pH causes sodium carbonate to have high
alkaline properties, or be very basic. These characteristics of sodium
carbonate are known as its physical and chemical properties, which show how the
substance is unchanged and changed by the identity of it. (1)
Sodium carbonate occurs naturally in regions of the United
States and Africa. Since this compound is noncombustible, neither its mining nor
its uses affect nature. This is important because due to its water solubility,
sodium carbonate may slip through the soil and into people’s water supply, but
it is harmless. This might be good but there are some cons to the compound.
Sodium carbonate causes toxicity in your body if ingested. It will produce
intense burns to the tissue that lines your oral cavity. This information is
important when experimenting with the compound, sodium carbonate. (1)
Sodium carbonate is defined as a compound that causes the
formation of the hydroxide ion when placed in water, which is why it is known as
having an Arrhenius base. (3) This base is a strong base, which makes it
caustic, meaning that sodium carbonate is a compound that corrodes. Sodium
carbonate has many byproducts including sulfates, chlorides, and bicarbonates of
sodium. (1) Sodium carbonate is prepared by the process of the Solvay process.
This process takes raw materials and combines them together to produce uses of
this compound. (4) It is used in the manufacturing of frequently used products such
as, glass, ceramics, paper, and petroleum products. (1) Sodium carbonate is also
important in the making of soaps, soap powders, and cleansing agents. (4) Today,
this compound is naturally mined in Wyoming and lake brines in California. (2)
It was through the Leblanc process, invented by Nicolas Leblanc
where salt was dissolved in sulfuric acid to form sodium sulfate. It was this
sodium sulfate that was roasted to yield a dark residue which was made up of
sodium carbonate. This process was patented in 1791, and Leblanc’s factory
produced 350 metric tons of soda a year. This process had later progressed into
the Chance process and it came to be known that this process was producing
35,000 metric tons of sulfur each year. It was because of the Leblanc process,
by Nicolas Leblanc that provided the chemical industry with some of its most
important raw materials and provided the world with sodium carbonate, producing
some of the most frequently used products. (5)