SODIUM CARBONATE

SODIUM CARBONATE
by:I W. Madiya

Sodium carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid. The other name of this chemical is soda ash or washing soda. The molecule’s formula is Na2CO3. The shape of this chemical is solid exactly white powder. This compound is composed by sodium carbonate molecules

. Every molecules is formed by sodium, carbon, and oxygen unsure with covalent bonding. There are four single covalent bondings and one double covalent bonding. One process make this chemical is solvay process who covered by Ernest Solvay from Belgium. The last reaction of this process, sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3) is heated in 330oC.

NaHCO3(s) Na2CO3(s) + H2O(g) + CO2(g)

In laboratory, sodium carbonate is used as reagent in many reaction especially while make another sodium compounds such as sodium phosphates. In daily life, sodium carbonate is used in glass manufacture (vessel glass), pulp industry, paper manufacture, soap industry, detergent, and bottle drinks manufacture.

In nature, sodium carbonate is rarely found in free condition but in specific material like trona. Trona is a sodium deposit which it’s molecule formula is Na2CO3.NaHCO3.2H2O. Trona could be found in Wyoming, USA.