Sodium Bicarbonate → Carbon Dioxide

Participants

Reaction Steps

U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,834 to Beecher et al. discloses a process for producing dense soda ash which includes the steps of decomposing a sodium bicarbonate solution by heating it to its boiling point while it is under pressure in excess of atmospheric. Beecher et al. discloses temperatures for decomposing sodium bicarbonate solutions between 150° C. to about 250° C. at super atmospheric pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,767 to Saeman et al. also discloses a method of making dense soda ash by decomposing a sodium bicarbonate solution at 150° to 250° C. and at 80 to 500 psia (pounds per square inch absolute) to form water, carbon dioxide, and anhydrous sodium carbonate. According to the Saeman process, sodium bicarbonate is mixed with a recycle stream containing suspended sodium carbonate seed crystals, a step not disclosed in Beecher. Similarly, Fujita et al. discloses a process for preparing sodium carbonate anhydride by countercurrent contacting of high pressure steam and a suspension of sodium bicarbonate or sodium sesquicarbonate in a concentrated solution of sodium carbonate at temperatures above 150° C.

Provenance & Evidence