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Soda ash

Sodium carbonate
Skeletal formula of sodium carbonate
Space-filling model of sodium carbonate
Sample of sodium carbonate
Names
IUPAC name
Sodium carbonate
Other names
Soda ash, Washing soda, Soda crystals
Identifiers
497-19-8 (anhydrous) YesY
5968-11-6 (monohydrate) N
6132-02-1 (decahydrate) N
3D model (Jmol) Interactive image
ChEBI CHEBI:29377 YesY
ChEMBL ChEMBL186314 YesY
ChemSpider 9916 YesY
ECHA InfoCard 100.007.127
EC Number 207-838-8
E number E500 (acidity regulators, ...)
PubChem 10340
RTECS number VZ4050000
UNII 45P3261C7T YesY
Properties
Na2CO3
Molar mass 105.9888 g/mol (anhydrous)
286.1416 g/mol (decahydrate)
Appearance White solid, hygroscopic
Odor Odorless
Density 2.54 g/cm3 (25 °C, anhydrous)
1.92 g/cm3 (856 °C)
2.25 g/cm3 (monohydrate)
1.51 g/cm3 (heptahydrate)
1.46 g/cm3 (decahydrate)
Melting point 851 °C (1,564 °F; 1,124 K)
decomposes (anhydrous)
100 °C (212 °F; 373 K)
decomposes (monohydrate)
33.5 °C (92.3 °F; 306.6 K)
decomposes (heptahydrate)
34 °C (93 °F; 307 K)
(decahydrate)
Decahydrate:
7 g/100 mL (0 °C)
16.4 g/100 mL (15 °C)
34.07 g/100 mL (27.8 °C)
Heptahydrate:
48.69 g/100 mL (34.8 °C)
Monohydrate:
50.31 g/100 mL (29.9 °C)
48.1 g/100 mL (41.9 °C)
45.62 g/100 mL (60 °C)
43.6 g/100 mL (100 °C)
Solubility Soluble in aq. alkalis,glycerol
Slightly soluble in aq. alcohol
Insoluble in CS2, acetone, alkyl acetates, alcohol, benzonitrile, liquid ammonia
Solubility in glycerine 98.3 g/100 g (15.5 °C)
Solubility in ethanediol 3.46 g/100 g (20 °C)
Solubility in dimethylformamide 0.5 g/kg
Basicity (pKb) 3.67
−4.1·10−5 cm3/mol
1.485 (anhydrous)
1.420 (monohydrate)
1.405 (decahydrate)
Viscosity 3.4 cP (887 °C)
Structure
Monoclinic (γ-form, β-form, δ-form, anhydrous)
Orthorhombic (monohydrate, heptahydrate)
C2/m, No. 12 (γ-form, anhydrous, 170 K)
C2/m, No. 12 (β-form, anhydrous, 628 K)
P21/n, No. 14 (δ-form, anhydrous, 110 K)
Pca21, No. 29 (monohydrate)
Pbca, No. 61 (heptahydrate)
2/m (γ-form, β-form, δ-form, anhydrous)
mm2 (monohydrate)
2/m 2/m 2/m (heptahydrate)
a = 8.920(7) Å, b = 5.245(5) Å, c = 6.050(5) Å (γ-form, anhydrous, 295 K)
α = 90°, β = 101.35(8)°, γ = 90°
Octahedral (Na+, anhydrous)
Thermochemistry
112.3 J/mol·K
135 J/mol·K
−1130.7 kJ/mol
−1044.4 kJ/mol
Hazards
Safety data sheet MSDS
GHS pictograms The exclamation-mark pictogram in the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS)
GHS signal word Warning
H319
P305+351+338
Irritant Xi
R-phrases R36
S-phrases (S2), S22, S26
NFPA 704
Flammability code 0: Will not burn. E.g., water Health code 2: Intense or continued but not chronic exposure could cause temporary incapacitation or possible residual injury. E.g., chloroform Reactivity code 0: Normally stable, even under fire exposure conditions, and is not reactive with water. E.g., liquid nitrogen Special hazards (white): no codeNFPA 704 four-colored diamond
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):
LD50 (median dose)
4090 mg/kg (rat, oral)
Related compounds
Other anions
Sodium bicarbonate
Other cations
Lithium carbonate
Potassium carbonate
Rubidium carbonate
Caesium carbonate
Related compounds
Sodium sesquicarbonate
Sodium percarbonate
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
N  (what is YesYN ?)
Infobox references

Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals, and in the monohydrate form as crystal carbonate), Na2CO3, is the water-soluble sodium salt of carbonic acid.

It most commonly occurs as a crystalline decahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate. Pure sodium carbonate is a white, odorless powder that is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air). It has a strongly alkaline taste, and forms a moderately basic solution in water. Sodium carbonate is well known domestically for its everyday use as a water softener. Historically it was extracted from the ashes of plants growing in sodium-rich soils, such as vegetation from the Middle East, kelp from Scotland and seaweed from Spain. Because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of timber (used to create potash), they became known as "soda ash". It is synthetically produced in large quantities from salt (sodium chloride) and limestone by a method known as the Solvay process.

The manufacture of glass is one of the most important uses of sodium carbonate. Sodium carbonate acts as a flux for silica, lowering the melting point of the mixture to something achievable without special materials. This "soda glass" is mildly water-soluble, so some calcium carbonate is added to the melt mixture to make the glass produced insoluble. This type of glass is known as soda lime glass: "soda" for the sodium carbonate and "lime" for the calcium carbonate. Soda lime glass has been the most common form of glass for centuries.

Sodium carbonate is also used as a relatively strong base in various settings. For example, it is used as a pH regulator to maintain stable alkaline conditions necessary for the action of the majority of photographic film developing agents. It acts as an alkali because when dissolved in water, it dissociates into the weak acid: carbonic acid and the strong alkali: sodium hydroxide. This gives sodium carbonate in solution the ability to attack metals such as aluminium with the release of hydrogen gas.


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Wikipedia

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