Soda ash / Кальцинированная сода

Soda ash is the trade name for sodium carbonate, a chemical refined from the mineral trona or sodium-carbonate-bearing brines (both referred to as "natural soda ash") or manufactured from one of several chemical processes (referred to as "synthetic soda ash"). Soda ash, which is one of the most important of all chemical products and is a starting material in producing many other chemicals, is produced in the largest amounts compared with other soda products. It is an essential raw material in glass, chemicals, detergents, and other important industrial products. In 1998, in terms of production, soda ash was the 11th largest inorganic chemical of all domestic inorganic and organic chemicals, excluding petrochemical feedstocks. Although soda ash represented only 2% of the total $39 billion U.S. nonfuel mineral industry, its use in many diversified products contributed substantially to the gross domestic product of the United States. Because soda ash is used in flat glass for automobile manufacture and building construction, which are important economic sectors of the domestic economy. 
The original Leblanc process for soda ash manufacturing never used in the united states, was abandoned in Europe early in 20th century. The modern method, know as the ammonia-soda or Solvay process, is used to produce most of the world’s soda ash. However there has been a very rapid development of natural soda ash processes of refining natural deposits of sodium carbonate compounds. Soda ash produced by the Solvay or other chemical processes is called synthetic ash. The growth of natural soda ash production is particularly striking in the united states and is due to both environmental and cost considerations. It is expected, however, that natural soda ash will make only limited inroads on worldwide production in the near future since the natural deposits are more limited than the raw materials used in the solvay process and, in many cases, are far removed from the consuming industries. <...>