| Items | Ⅰ | Ⅱ Dense | ⅡLight | |
| Total Alkali (Quality Fraction of Na2Co3 Dry Basis)%≥ | 99.4 | 99.2 | 99.2 | |
| Total Alkali (Quality Fraction of Na2Co3 Wet Basis)%≥ | 98.1 | 97.9 | 97.9 | |
| Nacl (Quality Fraction of Nacl Dry Basis)%≤ | 0.30 | 0.7 | 0.7 | |
| Fe Quality Fraction(Dry Basis)%≤ | 0.0025 | 0.0035 | 0.0035 | |
| Sulfate (Quality Fraction of SO4 dry Basis)%≤ | 0.03 | — | — | |
| Water insoluble matter %≤ | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 | |
| Bulk density (g/ml)≥ | 0.85 | 0.90 | 0.90 | |
| Particle Size | 180 µm sieving residue w/% | 75.0 | 70.0 | / |
| 1.18mm sieving residue w/% | 2.0 | / | / | |
According to the difference of density and packing degree, sodium carbonate is generally divided into light soda ash and dense soda ash. Dense soda ash is obtained through hydration of light soda ash, and its density and packing degree are higher. Compared with anhydrous sodium carbonate, sodium carbonate monohydrate has denser and brighter crystals, and larger and uniform crystal particles.
Sodium carbonate has many functions in detergents. It can adjust pH value and enhance cleaning power. It is widely used in washing powder, dish soap, and many other detergents. So it is usually called washing soda.
Washing soda has a pH value of 11, which is more alkaline than sodium bicarbonate. It is a good source of alkalinity that regulates pH and is an active ingredient in softening water. Although sodium bicarbonate can also be used in detergent recipes to remove stains, washing soda has a better stripping effect.
Washing powder. Adding an appropriate amount of washing soda to washing powder can enhance cleaning power, remove dirt and scale, and increase foam. At the same time, soda ash can also neutralize the acidic components in the laundry detergent, improve the washing effect, and make the clothes cleaner.
Dish soap. Adding soda ash to dishwashing liquid can remove oil stains. Sodium carbonate can neutralize oily components in wash water, making it easier to disperse, thereby improving cleaning results.
Detergents. Adding an appropriate amount of soda ash powder to the detergents can effectively remove scales and neutralize acidic substances, which is especially effective in cleaning kitchens, bathrooms and other occasions. Washing soda can quickly dissolve and break down the dirt structure, resulting in better cleaning results.
Adjust pH. Since the detergent itself is alkaline, the washing water contains a lot of acidic components, such as grease and sweat stains. If alkaline substances are not used for neutralization, the washing effect will be affected. Soda ash can continuously release alkaline ions during the washing process and neutralize acidic substances, thereby adjusting the pH value of the washing liquid and improving the cleaning effect.
Enhanced cleaning power. As an alkaline substance, washing soda can destroy the structure of grease and other dirt, making it easier to separate from water, thereby enhancing the cleaning power of detergents and playing the role of decontamination and descaling.
Oil is a long-chain carboxylic acid, usually a mixture. The grease undergoes a saponification reaction with an alkali aqueous solution at high temperature to generate sodium carboxylate that is soluble in water, thereby removing the grease. The main components of soda ash are sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate, which are highly alkaline. After contact with oil, it can quickly decompose grease and chemically decompose it into alkaline soap and other compounds. These alkaline compounds play an excellent role in decomposing and dissolving oil stains, making oil stains that are originally difficult to clean easier to remove.
At present, the production process of soda ash powder is mainly divided into the trona method and the synthetic ammonia method. The synthetic ammonia method is further divided into the ammonia-soda method and the combined-soda method.
The ammonia-soda method enables continuous production, improves the utilization rate of table salt, and makes the product pure in quality, so the product is called soda ash. It uses salt, limestone and ammonia as raw materials to produce soda ash. The production method has the advantages of easy availability of raw materials, low price, continuous production, large production capacity and high product purity. However, the utilization rate of sodium chloride is low, and the theoretical conversion rate is low.
The combined soda production method is a method of combining the ammonia soda method and the synthetic ammonia method to produce two products of soda ash and ammonium chloride at the same time. It retains the advantages of the ammonia-soda method, eliminates its disadvantages, and increases the utilization rate of table salt to 96%. Its raw materials are table salt, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The method has the characteristics of high raw material utilization rate, good quality and low cost.
Naturally, the production methods of alkali can be divided into three types, sesqui-alkali process, brine carbonization process, and water-alkali process. All of them produce soda ash through processes such as alkali mining, dissolution, and calcination.