CHEMISTRY

Three major chemical sectors consume salt: sodium chloride electrolysis, sodium carbonate production and sodium sulfate production.

Sodium chloride electrolysis: Sodium chloride electrolysis produces chlorine, soda and, under certain conditions, sodium chlorate or sodium metal:

Chlorine is mainly used in the manufacture of plastic raw materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), but also to produce chlorinated solvents and in the preparation of bleaches and disinfectants, such as bleach.

Soda ash is an intermediate chemical and is also used in the manufacture of artificial textile fibers, paper pulp and alumina, while sodium chlorate is used as a weedkiller and bleaching agent.

Sodium metal has major applications in organic chemistry, as a synthesis agent, and in the nuclear industry, as a heat transfer fluid.

In addition to its role as a reagent (base) in the chemical industry, sodium carbonate, known as “soda crystals” in household use, is mainly used in the glass industry. Its production involves two raw materials: sodium chloride, calcium carbonate (limestone), and an intermediate: ammonia.

Sodium sulfate is used in paper mills to treat wood pulp, in the glass and detergent industries, and as a manufacturing agent for other chemicals. This product is obtained in furnaces where crystallized sodium chloride is mixed with sulfuric acid at a temperature of over 550°C.