Soda Ash Experiment
Title
Soda Ash: Great for the economy but detrimental to the body;
So why is it involved in everyday life?
Abstract
Sodium carbonate, Na₂CO₃, commonly known as soda ash is used in the manufacturing of many economically important products such as the manufacturing of glass, chemicals, paper and detergents. Since sodium carbonate has a strong base, it is commonly used to neutralize acidic effects. Soda ash has a high pH in concentrated solutions and can irritate the eyes and skin as well as cause corrosion of the stomach lining if ingested. To determine the efficiency of a titrimetric and potentiometric method while determining the carbonate in soda ash, both a t-test and f-test were performed. The t-test proved accuracy between methods and the f-test proved no difference in precision.
Introduction
Soda ash is a white anhydrous material that be found in either powder or granular form and it contains 99% sodium carbonate when shipped[i] (1). Soda ash serves a purpose in the manufacturing of many economically important products such as the manufacturing of glass, chemicals, paper, detergents and other products. Soda ash has been used dating all the way back to 3500 BC by the Egyptians. The Egyptians were able to utilize soda ash then in the production of glass and then as an ingredient in medicines and breads by the Romans (1). Today, the majority of the world’s soda ash comes from trona ore, which is mostly found in the Green River Basin, formerly known as the Gosiute Lake, located in southwest Wyoming. The Green River basin is actually a prehistoric alkaline lakebed that supplies this vast amount of trona ore (1). With glass manufacturing being the largest application of soda ash, it serves very high importance in the production of containers, fiberglass insulation or flat glass for housing commercial building and automotive industries[ii] (2). Not only is the use of soda ash in glass manufacturing important, but it is also used to clean the air
Soda Ash: Great for the economy but detrimental to the body;
So why is it involved in everyday life?
Abstract
Sodium carbonate, Na₂CO₃, commonly known as soda ash is used in the manufacturing of many economically important products such as the manufacturing of glass, chemicals, paper and detergents. Since sodium carbonate has a strong base, it is commonly used to neutralize acidic effects. Soda ash has a high pH in concentrated solutions and can irritate the eyes and skin as well as cause corrosion of the stomach lining if ingested. To determine the efficiency of a titrimetric and potentiometric method while determining the carbonate in soda ash, both a t-test and f-test were performed. The t-test proved accuracy between methods and the f-test proved no difference in precision.
Introduction
Soda ash is a white anhydrous material that be found in either powder or granular form and it contains 99% sodium carbonate when shipped[i] (1). Soda ash serves a purpose in the manufacturing of many economically important products such as the manufacturing of glass, chemicals, paper, detergents and other products. Soda ash has been used dating all the way back to 3500 BC by the Egyptians. The Egyptians were able to utilize soda ash then in the production of glass and then as an ingredient in medicines and breads by the Romans (1). Today, the majority of the world’s soda ash comes from trona ore, which is mostly found in the Green River Basin, formerly known as the Gosiute Lake, located in southwest Wyoming. The Green River basin is actually a prehistoric alkaline lakebed that supplies this vast amount of trona ore (1). With glass manufacturing being the largest application of soda ash, it serves very high importance in the production of containers, fiberglass insulation or flat glass for housing commercial building and automotive industries[ii] (2). Not only is the use of soda ash in glass manufacturing important, but it is also used to clean the air
References: ----------------------- [i] Lakhanisk, T. 2002. "Sodium Carbonate". UNEP Publications. Print [ii] Industrial Minerals Association. 2009. Retrieved from http://www.ima-na.org/soda-ash/ ----------------------- [pic] [pic]