Sodium carbonate
chemical compound
Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash, sal soda, and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odorless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water. Historically, it was extracted from the ashes of plants grown in sodium-rich soils, and because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood (once used to produce potash), sodium carbonate became known as "soda ash". It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process, as well as by carbonating sodium hydroxide which is made using the chloralkali process.
Hydrates
Sodium carbonate is obtained as three hydrates and as the anhydrous salt:
sodium carbonate decahydrate (natron), Na2CO3 · 10 H2O, which readily effloresces to form the monohydrate.
sodium carbonate heptahydrate (not known in mineral form), Na2CO3 · 7 H2O.
sodium carbonate monohydrate (thermonatrite), Na2CO3 · H2O. Also known as crystal carbonate.
anhydrous sodium carbonate (natrite), also known as calcined soda, is formed by heating the hydrates. It is also formed when sodium hydrogencarbonate is heated (calcined) e.g. in the final step of the Solvay process.
The decahydrate is formed from water solutions crystallizing in the temperature range −2.1 to 32.0 °C, the heptahydrate in the narrow range 32.0 to 35.4 °C and above this temperature the monohydrate forms.
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