Raw materials for Glass Manufacturing:
Solvay’s Process: This process produces light soda ash. Soda Ash thus produced has a specific weight of 500 kg/m3. This specific weight is sufficient for using in detergent and chemical application. But for glass manufacturing higher specific weight of atleast 1000 kg/m3 is required.
The light soda ash produced in the solvay’s process can be converted to dense soda ash by the process of re-crystallisation. The light soda ash is transformed by re-crystallisation into sodium carbonate monohydrate and then into dense soda ash after dehydration. Dense soda ash can also be produced by compaction. The approximate production capacity of soda ash across the globe is about 43 million tons per year and Solvay’s process is the most widely used production method. About 25 million tons of the soda ash is produced by the solvay’s process. Theoretically Soda Ash in Solvay’s process is produced by the chemical reaction between Sodium Chloride and Calcium Carbonate
2NaCl + CaCO3 —– > Na2CO3 + CaCl2
But this equation cannot be practically converted into process. Practically the method for soda ash production is different.
To be Contd….
