Changes in Synthetic Soda Ash Production and Its Consequences for the Environment

Abstract

This publication presents a series of data of one of the most difficult chemical processes to implement in industrial conditions. Obtaining soda using the Solvay technique is a process with a world volume of about 28 Tg per year. The process is extremely physico-chemically complex and environmentally burdensome. The paper presents information on a multi-component system containing three phases with a chemical reaction. Calculations for such systems and their engineering are very complicated, but the authors show how the results of this work can be applied. This paper also describes modifications of the soda process to minimize the environmental burden and minimize the production input of Na2CO3. The modifications were beneficial in reducing CO2 emissions and increased the efficiency of the soda process, resulting in a measurable financial benefit. At the scale of the plant where the experiment was carried out, this reduction in CO2 emissions amounts to 7.93 Gg per year.