Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) also known as washing soda or soda ash, is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. Most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate. Sodium carbonate is domestically well known as a water softener. It can be extracted from the ashes of many plants. It is synthetically produced in large quantities from salt and limestone in a process known as the Solvay process.
It is an essential raw material used in the manufacturing of glass, detergents chemicals and other industrial products. As such, soda ash is one of the most widely used and important commodities in the United States, contributing substantially to the gross domestic product. Soda ash is used to make the most common type of glass, soda-lime silica glass, generally used in the flat glass (automotive and construction), glass container (food and drink) and many other glass industries.
It is also used in the production of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which is an essential ingredient in the beverage, coatings, detergents, food, dialysis, and personal care markets. For many of applications, soda ash is interchangeable with caustic soda, while offering a cost advantage.The soda ash market is estimated to witness a CAGR of 6.1% between 2014 and 2019 in terms of value, and is anticipated to generate a global market value of $22,090 million by 2019. A key factor driving the growth of the market is the growing applications of glass market. One of the major drivers for the growth of the soda ash market in the growing use of glass in various industries. Glass is extensively used in industries such as construction, automobile, and consumer product packaging. In 2017, the glass industry is the major end-user of the global soda ash market, which accounted for a share of 51.5%. The types of glass that use soda ash are flat glass container glass and others such as fiberglass, technical glass, and specialty glass. Entrepreneurs who invest in this project will be successful.