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Solvay Process

The Solvay process is a industrial process developed in the 1860s to produce soda ash (sodium carbonate) from salt brine and limestone. It involves 5 main chemical reactions where limestone is converted to calcium oxide in a kiln, which then reacts with ammonia and brine in an absorber, tower, water bed and recovery tower to produce sodium bicarbonate. The sodium bicarbonate is then heated to produce the final soda ash product. Worldwide production of soda ash, which is used to make glass, soap and detergents, was 42 billion kilograms in 2005.

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2K views20 pages

Solvay Process

The Solvay process is a industrial process developed in the 1860s to produce soda ash (sodium carbonate) from salt brine and limestone. It involves 5 main chemical reactions where limestone is converted to calcium oxide in a kiln, which then reacts with ammonia and brine in an absorber, tower, water bed and recovery tower to produce sodium bicarbonate. The sodium bicarbonate is then heated to produce the final soda ash product. Worldwide production of soda ash, which is used to make glass, soap and detergents, was 42 billion kilograms in 2005.

Uploaded by

Son Tran
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Solvay Process

Jonathan Bauer Keith Sager

Uche Onyewuenyi
Lam Nguyen

Background

Developed by Ernest Solvay in the 1860s Worldwide production in 2005 was 42 billion kilograms

Equivalent to 13 lbs per person per year

Raw materials are salt brine and limestone from mines In 1884 the Solvay Brothers (Ernest and Alfred) created a joint venture to in the United States called the Solvay Process Company There are no more solvay processing plants in North America

Natural deposits of trona (Na3(CO3)(HCO3)2H2O) are cheaper

Applications of Soda Ash


Glass making Soda-lime glass


Cheaper, can be re-softened and re-melted Good for recycling

Soap and Detergent Cheaper alternative to lye (NaOH) Common alkali in many chemical factories

CaCO3 BRINE

AMMONIA BRINE

KILN

NH3

AMMONIA ABSORBER

SOLVAY TOWER

CO2
CaO

NH4Cl
NaHCO3 Ca(OH)2

WATER BED

AMMONIA RECOVERY TOWER

HEATER

Na2CO3

Kiln

CaCO3

3 2 +
Temperature = 950 1100C

CO2

CaO

CaCO3 BRINE

AMMONIA BRINE

KILN

NH3

AMMONIA ABSORBER

SOLVAY TOWER

CO2
CaO

NH4Cl
NaHCO3 Ca(OH)2

WATER BED

AMMONIA RECOVERY TOWER

HEATER

Na2CO3

Ammonia Absorber
Brine

No reaction takes place Ammonia mixes with brine Mushroom shape baffles Controls flow of brine for proper mixing and saturation

Ammonia and Brine NH3

CaCO3 BRINE

AMMONIA BRINE

KILN

NH3

AMMONIA ABSORBER

SOLVAY TOWER

CO2
CaO

NH4Cl
NaHCO3 Ca(OH)2

WATER BED

AMMONIA RECOVERY TOWER

HEATER

Na2CO3

Solvay Tower

+ 2 + 3 + 2 3 + 4

Temperature is 0C
Mushroom baffle plates

Breaks up CO2 Controls flow through tower

Lower part of tower is cooled because reaction is exothermic Vacuum filter at tower bottom

NH4Cl NaHCO3

CaCO3 BRINE

AMMONIA BRINE

KILN

NH3

AMMONIA ABSORBER

SOLVAY TOWER

CO2
CaO

NH4Cl
NaHCO3 Ca(OH)2

WATER BED

AMMONIA RECOVERY TOWER

HEATER

Na2CO3

Water Bed

+ 2

Calcium oxide comes from kiln Calcium hydroxide is sent to ammonia recovery tower

CaCO3 BRINE

AMMONIA BRINE

KILN

NH3

AMMONIA ABSORBER

SOLVAY TOWER

CO2
CaO

NH4Cl
NaHCO3 Ca(OH)2

WATER BED

AMMONIA RECOVERY TOWER

HEATER

Na2CO3

Ammonia Recovery Tower


NH3 NH4Cl

24 + 23 + 2 + 2

Overall reaction for water bed and recovery tower

CaCl2 and H2O fall out bottom of tower Temperature is 100C

Ca(OH)2

CaCO3 BRINE

AMMONIA BRINE

KILN

NH3

AMMONIA ABSORBER

SOLVAY TOWER

CO2
CaO

NH4Cl
NaHCO3 Ca(OH)2

WATER BED

AMMONIA RECOVERY TOWER

HEATER

Na2CO3

Heater (Calcifier)

23 2 3 + 2 + 2 Rotary heater at 300C Carbon dioxide is recirculated with kiln product and sent to solvay tower Final product is recovered as a solid

CO2

NaHCO3 Na2CO3

CaCO3 BRINE

AMMONIA BRINE

KILN

NH3

AMMONIA ABSORBER

SOLVAY TOWER

CO2
CaO

NH4Cl
NaHCO3 Ca(OH)2

WATER BED

AMMONIA RECOVERY TOWER

HEATER

Na2CO3

Chemical Reactions Summary


1. 2. 3. 4.

+ 2 + 3 + 2 3 + 4 3 2 + 24 + 23 + 2 + 2 23 2 3 + 2 + 2

5.

+ +

Thermodynamics

Overall Process

. + (. ) . . = .

Reaction 1

948 + 315

407 + 393.5 + 45.9 + 242

= 176

Reaction 2

(393.5) + (635.1) 1206.9 = 178.3

Reaction 3

2 45.9 + 877.3 + 242

315 + 635.1

= 261

Reaction 4

1130.77 + 242 + 393.5 2 948 = 129.8

Questions?

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvay_process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_lime_glass http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trona http://www.citycollegiate.com/sblock2.htm http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/PDF/Sodium_Bicarbonate_&_Sodium _Carbonate.pdf

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