Sodium Carbonate

Sodium carbonate serves 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.

The principal applications of sodium carbonate are in the manufacture of glass and the production of chemicals. It is also used in processing wood pulp to make paper, in making soaps and detergents, in refining aluminum, in water softening, and in many other applications.

The major uses of heavy sodium carbonate are as a solid, particularly in making glass, where it is used as a flux in the melting of silica (sand). The uses for light sodium carbonate are traditionally where the chemical is required in solution.

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