Editing Solvay process (section)

{{Short description|Method for production of sodium carbonate}}
The '''Solvay process''' or '''ammonia–soda process''' is the major industrial process for the production of [[sodium carbonate]] (soda ash, Na<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>). The ammonia–soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist [[Ernest Solvay]] during the 1860s.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Law|first1=Jonathan LawJonathan|title=Solvay process|date=2020-03-19|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198841227.001.0001/acref-9780198841227-e-3822|work=A Dictionary of Chemistry|editor-last=Law|editor-first=Jonathan|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198841227.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-884122-7|access-date=2020-10-08|last2=Rennie|first2=Richard|editor2-last=Rennie|editor2-first=Richard|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The ingredients for this  are readily available and inexpensive: salt [[brine]] (from inland sources or from the sea) and [[limestone]] (from quarries). The worldwide production of soda ash in 2005 was estimated at 42 million tonnes,<ref name="Kostick">Kostick, Dennis (2006). [http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/soda_ash/soda_myb05.pdf "Soda Ash"], chapter in ''2005 Minerals Yearbook,'' United States Geological Survey. See Table I.</ref> which is more than six kilograms ({{convert|6|kg|lb|disp=out}}) per year for each person on Earth. Solvay-based chemical plants now produce roughly three-quarters of this supply, with the remaining being mined from natural deposits. This method superseded the [[Leblanc process]].