Soda Ash for the Glass Industry, Manufacture, Properties, Handling and Storage

JSGT 1956 V40 T376-T387

Alkalis for glassmaking were produced from the ashes of plants until the invention of the Leblanc chemical process in 1783. The Ammonia Soda Process followed in 1861, and is now exclusively used as the chemical method of preparation. In Kenya and in California, deposits of trona or sodium sesquicarbonate occur in a sufficiently pure state to be used for glassmaking, after washing and calcining. The form of soda ash used for glassmaking in this country is almost always the granular material, prepared from light soda ash by densification, sieving, and air classification. Recommended methods of handling and storage, in bags or in bulk, are described.

N. L. Evans, A. C. Rolfe & F. G. West-Oram