Sodium Carbonate A Glance

What Is Sodium Carbonate?

Sodium Carbonate is an inorganic compound with a chemical formula of Na2CO3 and a molecular weight of 105.99. It is also called soda ash, but it is classified as a salt, not an alkali. Also known as soda or soda ash in international trade. sodium carbonate melting point is 851℃, boiling point is 1600℃, and sodium carbonate is soluble in water.

It is an important inorganic chemical raw material, mainly used in the production of flat glass, glass products and ceramic glaze. It is also widely used in daily washing, acid neutralization and food processing. Let’s take a closer look.

Sodium Carbonate Uses

l Using as acidity regulators in food additives

At present, there are 23 categories and nearly 2000 kinds of food additives in China. Acidity regulators, anticaking agents, defoamers, antioxidants, bleaching agents, leavening agents, etc. are all common food additives.

Acidity regulators: mainly citric acid, phosphoric acid, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, etc., which are common in beverages.

l Also used as compound thickeners in food production

I saw a Haixin imitation crab meat stick in the supermarket, its ingredients list has 25 kinds of ingredients, in addition to surimi, water, frozen protein, starch, its additives are starch acetate, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, chili red and many other kinds, and compound thickeners include carrageenan, knotted cold gum, sodium carbonate, etc.

l A kind of detergents

Detergents: polyether, sodium metasilicate, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, whitening agents, enzymatic agents, bleaching agents, softeners, smoothing agents, oxidizing agents, adsorbents, washing raw materials and intermediates.

l Manufacture of glass

Glass manufacturers use Calcium sulfite to remove the greenish tinge from glass. The calcium sulfite and sodium carbonate reactions form sodium sulfite and sodium bisulfite. This reaction forms a molten glass that eventually becomes a solid. Calcium sulfite also helps reduce the amount of soda ash used in the manufacture of glass.

News of Sodium Carbonate Price Markets

1) Limited price rise of sodium carbonate

The spot price of sodium carbonate has continued to decline since October, and is currently close to the bottom line of manufacturers, and there is little room for continued price reduction. Taking into account winter storage demand and transportation pressure at the end of the year, the price of sodium carbonate is expected to stabilize and rebound.

2) Statistics of sodium carbonate industry in 2019 

The price of Sodium Carbonate dropped sharply in 2019, down 26.53% for the whole year. On January 1, the average price in the domestic market was 2,123.33 CNY/ton, the highest unit price in the whole year. The average price on the domestic market on December 24 was 1,560.00 yuan per ton, which is also the lowest unit price for the year.

3) Chinese sodium carbonate market review in Oct

Offers for sodium carbonate in Central China were in the range of RMB 2,200-2,300/mt. USD offers for industry-grade STPP were around $810 FOB Huangpu.  

Raw Materials: Yellow phosphorus and phosphoric acid prices will be high in November. Sodium carbonate prices will be high on the tight supply.

It is predicted that the phosphate market will inch up in November. 

Where to Buy Sodium Carbonate

By the way, we have many sodium carbonate suppliers on ECHEMI. Here are two manufacturers with good performance:

1) Shanxi Zorui Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

Zorui mainly involves in production and exportation of food & feed additives, organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and plant extracts... etc. For many years, the skill with international leading product research and development technology and advanced transnational enterprise management pattern, for global in more than 100 countries nearly 1000 companies continue to offer high quality products and service, and has been with the world 500 strong pharmaceutical and biotechnology company keep the strategic cooperative partnership.

2) DKSH

DKSH Business Unit Performance Materials distributes specialty chemicals and ingredients for food, pharmaceutical, personal care and various industrial applications. With 39 innovation centers and regulatory support worldwide, we create cutting edge formulations that comply with local regulations. With around 1,080 specialists, the Business Unit generated net sales of CHF 960.4 million in 2018.