JEE Main 2021
LEVELJEE Main
Visualized Solution
The Sigma Insight: Alkali Metals
The Elegance of the Solvay Process
Imagine you are tasked with producing millions of tons of washing soda (sodium carbonate, ) every year. You need a method that is not only efficient but also highly economical. Enter the Solvay process, a brilliant piece of industrial chemistry.
One of the key reagents used in this process is ammonia (). However, ammonia is quite expensive. If the process consumed ammonia without replacing it, manufacturing washing soda would be financially impossible. To solve this, the Solvay process is ingeniously designed to recover and recycle almost all the ammonia it uses.
The Ammonia Recovery Step
During the intermediate stages of the Solvay process, a filtrate is produced that is rich in ammonium chloride (). This is where the magic of recovery happens.
To get our precious ammonia back, this ammonium chloride is treated with slaked lime, which is chemically known as calcium hydroxide (). The reaction is carried out in an ammonia recovery tower where heat is applied.
The Chemical Reaction
Let's look at the exact chemical equation for this recovery step:
When we heat the mixture, three distinct products are formed. First and foremost, ammonia gas () is released. This gas is immediately captured and routed back to the beginning of the Solvay process to be reused.
Along with ammonia, water () and calcium chloride () are produced. Since ammonia is the intended recovered product and water is ubiquitous, we must look at calcium chloride. It is not the primary product of the Solvay process, nor is it recycled back into the system. Therefore, calcium chloride () is officially classified as the by-product of this recovery step, and by extension, a major by-product of the entire Solvay process.
Understanding these industrial reactions is crucial, as they frequently appear in competitive exams to test your grasp of practical chemistry!
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