Sodium carbonates is a chemical compound, the sodium salt of carbonic acid and it  is commonly known as soda ash or washing soda. It is used in various industries, including the food industry, where it acts as a pH regulator and leavening agent. In everyday life, it can be used as a food additive (E500) and also in cleaning products, such as laundry detergents.

The name describes the structure of the molecule.

• Sodium. A chemical element and an essential mineral for the human body, involved in many cellular functions, including regulating blood pressure and maintaining fluid balance.
• Carbonates are salts of carbonic acid and contain the carbonate ion, CO3^2-. They are chemical compounds formed from carbon, oxygen, and a metal.

Description of raw materials used in production. 

• The primary raw materials for the production of sodium carbonate include calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), table salt (NaCl), and ammonia (NH₃).

Step-by-step summary of industrial production process.

• Ammonia Solution. Salt and ammonia are dissolved in water to form a solution.
• Formation of Ammonium Bicarbonate. Carbon dioxide is bubbled through the solution to form ammonium bicarbonate.
• Formation of Calcium Carbonate. The ammonium bicarbonate reacts with calcium carbonate to form ammonium carbonate and calcium.
• Production of Sodium Carbonate. The ammonium and calcium carbonate reacts with sodium chloride to produce sodium carbonate and calcium chloride.
• Removal of Ammonia. Ammonia is then removed from the mixture and recycled into the process.
• Drying and Purification. The wet sodium carbonate is dried and purified to yield a fine powder.

Form and color. 

Sodium carbonates typically appear as a white crystalline solid, which can be either pulverized or granulated. They are water soluble and alkaline in nature, with a molecular structure that allows them to neutralize acids and perform a wide range of functions in various industrial and domestic applications. In particular, sodium bicarbonate (a form of sodium carbonate) is also known as baking soda, and is widely used not only in the food industry but also as a common household cleaning agent due to its neutralizing and cleaning properties.

Food

Ingredient included in the list of European food additives as E500 with a leavening function.

In the list of European food additives is specified as follows:

• E500 (i) Sodium carbonate 
• E500 (ii) Sodium bicarbonate 
• E500 (iii) Sodium Sesquicarbonate

Sodium carbonate has multiple uses in the industrial sector of building materials, food industry, chemical industry with daily chemicals, metallurgy, textiles, pharmaceuticals, medicine and other sectors.

In the manufacturing process of detergents and soaps it is used as a filler and to make the product smoother. 

It is adjuvant in the production of chemical products such as sodium silicate, sodium bicarbonate and percarbonate, chromate and sodium dichromate.

The glass industry needs 0.2 tons of sodium carbonate per ton of glass because, in the glass manufacturing process it reduces the melting temperature of the sand used in glass formation and aids in the shaping and workability of glassware such as tableware, optical glass and float glass.

Sodium carbonate can reduce the corrosive effect of alkali dust on refractory materials and extend furnace life.

In the food industry it acts as a leavening, buffering and dough softening agent in baked goods and especially in cakes and pastries as well as in soy sauce, bread, amino acid production. When mixed with alkaline water and added to dough has the property of increasing elasticity and ductility. Sodium carbonate can also be used to produce MSG, Monosodium Glutamate.

In the pharmaceutical industry it is used as osmotic laxative and antacid. It is inserted into medicinal tablets as a filler, a substance used to increase the volume of the mass to be compressed to the desired volume.

In the metalworking industry, sodium carbonate is used for electrolytic coppering, electrolytic polishing of aluminum and alloys, chemical and electrochemical degreasing, chemical oxidation of aluminum, corrosion of aluminum, rust prevention between processes, electrolytic degradation, sealing after phosphating. It also serves for chromium plating and subsequent removal of chromium oxide film, copper pre-plating, steel plating and in the electrolyte plating of steel alloy.

In metallurgical industry, it is desulfurization agent in steel production and antimony smelting.

In the tanning industry it neutralizes chrome tanned leather, degreases leather, improves the alkalinity of chrome tanning bath.

Also used as a test to calibrate the acid in quantitative analysis, co-solvent analysis of silica in cement, glucose analysis in urine and blood, test for the determination of copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, sulfur. Metallographic analysis etc.

For the production of lactulose, it has proved to be effective by considerably reducing the production time (1).

It is used in the preparation and cooking of patties and hamburgers to improve their elasticity, hardness and cohesion (2).

It has been used as an efficient and inexpensive alkaline catalyst for pretreatment of corn straw and lignocellulosic biomass (3).

It is used to improve the tolerance of fruit (in this case pears) to frost damage (4).

It is an anti-inflammatory and is also used as a tooth-cleaning agent (5).

The most relevant studies on this ingredient have been selected with a summary of their contents:

Sodium carbonate studies

• Molecular Formula: CNa₂O₃
• Molecular Weight: 105.988 g/mol
• UNII: 45P3261C7T
• CAS: 497-19-8  7542-12-3  6106-20-3  1332-57-6  1314087-39-2  1977561-09-3
• EC Number: 207-838-8  231-420-4
• PubChem Substance ID 24899762
• Beilstein Registry Number 4154566

Synonyms: 

• Disodium carbonate
• Carbonic acid sodium salt
• Sodium carbonate anhydrous
• Anhydrous soda
• CHEBI:29377
• Soda Ash
• Carbonic acid disodium salt
• Trona
• Soda Ash Light 4P
• Suprapur 6395
• Crystol carbonate
• Caswell N0 752
• Natriumkarbonat
• Bisodium carbonate
• Dynamar L 13890
• Soda
• Calcined soda
• sodiumcarbonate
• Sodium carbonate, anhydrous
• Washing soda
• Carbonic acid, disodium salt
• Solvay soda
• Soda, calcined
• Snowlite I
• Light Ash
• V Soda

References______________________________________________________________________

(1) Seo YH, Park GW, Han JI. Efficient lactulose production from cheese whey using sodium carbonate. Food Chem. 2015 Apr 15;173:1167-71. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.10.109. 

(2) Parlak O, Zorba O, Kurt S. Modelling with response surface methodology of the effects of egg yolk, egg white and sodium carbonate on some textural properties of beef patties. J Food Sci Technol. 2014 Apr;51(4):780-4. doi: 10.1007/s13197-011-0552-4.

(3)Kim I, Rehman MS, Han JI. Enhanced glucose yield and structural characterization of corn stover by sodium carbonate pretreatment. Bioresour Technol. 2014;152:316-20. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2013.10.069.

(4) D'Aquino S, Barberis A, Continella A, La Malfa S, Gentile A, Schirra M. Individual and combined effects of postharvest dip treatments with water at 50 degrees C, soy lecithin and sodium carbonate on cold stored cactus pear fruits. Commun Agric Appl Biol Sci. 2012;77(3):207-17.

(5) Turker SB, Sener ID, Koçak A, Yilmaz S, Ozkan YK. Factors triggering the oral mucosal lesions by complete dentures. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2010 Jul-Aug;51(1):100-4. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2009.09.001.