Soda Ash Λ Statistical JOHN
R.
SKEEN,
Foster D. Snell, Inc., 29 West 15th Street, New York, Ν. Υ.
A. PLENTIFUL supply of low-cost alkali is essential to such industries as those manu facturing glass, soap, aluminum, textiles, rubber, and a long list of industrial chemi cals. Consumption of sodium carbonate, the soda ash of commerce, ran in excess of 4.5 million short tons during 1947, includ ing exports, and it is likely that the use of sodium hydroxide or caustic soda amoun ted to an additional 2 million tons. Be cause of the more critical supply situation in soda ash, this article will review the position of that material, principally. T h e statement can be ventured that, in general, capacity for the manufacture of soda ash has kept pace with demand, in peace or war, ever since t h e establishment of a domestic alkali industry based upon the Solvay ammonia-soda method. To day, there is a shortage of soda ash due to the fact that, while capacity was increased between 1941 and 1943 to meet war needs, no expansion was arranged beyond 1943 to meet future industrial demands (Table I ) . On behalf of the industry it must be con ceded, however, t h a t the War Production Board did not find i t necessary during the war to place soda ash under allocation. W P B , on the other hand, was chiefly con cerned with providing chemicals for war. Neither the alkali industry nor W P B could be expected t o foresee a n d to effect capacity expansion at t h a t time to meet the inflated world chemical demands of 1947 and 1948.
T a b l e I.
Review
Freed from its wartime obligations, the alkali industry embarked a t once upon another plant expansion program. In t h e face of extraordinarily high costs and materials shortages, new plants a n d facili ties for 500,000 tons are u n d e r construction a n d should come into production in 1948. This will bring total manufacturing capacity up to around 5 million tons annually, a figure far in excess of any other nation's soda ash output. In addi tion, plants on t h e West Coast working t h e brines from Searles Lake a n d Owens Lake are expected to increase their capac i t y for natural sodium carbonate b y approximately 70,000 tons. It should be borne in mind t h a t not all of the soda ash produced through t h e ammonia-soda process is available for sale a s such. I n this method, a saturated solution of salt is first treated with ammonia gas and then with. CO2 to form t h e crude sodium bicarbonate, suspended in ammonium chloride solution. Calci nation converts this to light soda ash (Na 2 C0 3 ), some of which is reprocessed to dense soda ash (Na 2 CCMl20), t o sodium hydroxide, and to refined sodium bicar bonate. At some plants t h e subsequent steps are omitted and the entire produc tion is sold in the form of light soda ash of commerce. Of t h e production of some 4.5 million tons of soda ash in 1946, about 3.2 million tons were sold as such. From the above it m a y be inferred
Soda A s h : Supply a n d Capacity ( U n i t : 1,000 s h o r t t o n s )
SUPPLY 4 »
1931 1933 1935 1937 1939 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1Q 2Q 3Q 4QZ 1948 α
Net 2,255 2,295 2,465 2,983 2,883 3,741 3,860 4.426 4,648 4,505 4,439 1,164 1,184 1,144
PRODUCTION B Y SOURCE
T o t a l c Ammonia** 2,275 2,197 2,317 2,249 2,509 2,414 3,037 2,918 2,961/ 2,826 3,724 3,607 3,925 3,789 4,571 4,408 4,538 4,718 4,375 4,557 4,506 4,284 1,175 1,206 1,178 1,241
1,115 1,138 1,101 1.163
Natural6 78.5 68.4 95.2 118.8 132.9 117.6 136.2 163.5 179.6 181.8 212.0 60.4 68.0 77.1 76.8
IMPORT-EXPORT δ
N e t / I m ports E x p o r t e -20.1 7.5 27.6 - 2 1 . 7 6.7 28.4 - 4 3 . 5 0.0* 43.5 - 5 4 . 7 O.0* 5 4 . 7 - 8 0 . 0 0.0* 80.0 - 8 3 . 4 0.0* 83.4 - 6 4 . 5 0.0* 64.5 - 1 4 4 . 5 8.4 152.9 79.3 - 6 9 . 9 9.4 70.4 52.1 18.3 67.0 - 6 1 . 1 5.9 -11.3 -20.2 -33.7
0.0 0.1 n.l.
CA-PACITT
Totale
Ammonia* Natural 2,800 135
3,535
3,400 4,190
4,665 4,685 4,722 4,810
4,500 4.50O 4,500 4.50O 4,500
222 310
5,380
5,000
380
165 165 185
11.3 20.3 33.7
A p p r o x i m a t e andc n o t official; " t o t a l p r o d u c t i o n " plus " n e t i m p o r t - e x p o r t . " b U.S. Foreign Com merce & Navigation. Census of Manufactures, 1 9 3 1 - 3 9 ; Facts for Industry, series M 1 9 A and s u p p l e m e n t s , 1941 a n d after; 98 et o 100% N a 2 C 0 3 .
