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Process Selection - Trona Ore REVISE
Process Selection - Trona Ore REVISE
I. INTRODUCTION
There are two methods to process trona to produce sodium carbonate, by monohydrate
process or by sesquicarbonate process. The two processes presently used to produce natural soda
ash differ only in the recovery and primary treatment of the raw material used. Monohydrate process
being the most used process of the two. Monohydrate process produces dense soda ash which is
the type used for the glass making industry.
The ore is heated to release the carbon dioxide and yield sodium carbonate
Trona ore is mined by conventional room and pillar mining, longwall mining and shortwall
mining methods. It is composed of 45% Na2CO3, 35% NaHCO3, 2% NaCl, 1.5% Na2SO4, 0.1% SiO2,
0.2% insoluble, and 18% H2O.
In the monohydrate process, trona is crushed and calcined in rotary gas fired calciners at
150 to 300 ºC to remove water and carbon dioxide from the ore, which reduces the weight of the ore
by 27%, leaving an impure product containing 85% sodium carbonate and 15% insoluble.
The crude sodium carbonate is fed into a dissolver, where the sodium carbonate dissolves.
The liquor is then sent to a clarifier where suspended solids can settle. These solids are futher
dewatered in a secondary clarifier. Then the solution is filtered and activated carbon may be used to
remove impurities from the liquor.
The clear, hot solution containing about 30% sodium carbonate by weight is sent to
evaporative multi – effect crystallizers or mechanical vapor crystallizers, where sodium carbonate
monohydrate crystals (𝑁𝑎2 𝐶𝑂3 ∙ 𝐻2 𝑂) precipitate at 40 to 100 ºC , which is below the transition
temperature of monohydrate to anhydrous soda ash. The final concentration is about 60%.
The insoluble portion of the ore containing shale and shortite is collected by clarifiers, filtered
and then washed to recover any additional alkali before being piped in a slurry to tailing ponds or
injected underground in abandoned sections of the mine.
The crystals are sent from the crystallizers to hydrocyclones and dewatered in centrifuges
to between 2% and 6% free moisture. The centrifuge cake is conveyed to steam tube dryers where
the crystals are dehydrated into anhydrous soda ash at 120 – 180 ºC, screened and sent to storage
or shipment. The final product made by the monohydrate process is dense soda ash with a bulk
density of 0.99 – 1.04 g/cm3 and an average particle size of about 250 µm.
IV. EQUIPMENT UTILIZED
Table 1: Equipment’s for Production of Sodium Carbonate from Trona by Monohydrate Process
The U.S. Geological Survey in 1997 estimated the total reserve of trona to be 127 billion
tons, but only 40 billion tons are recoverable. At the current rate of operation, Wyoming’s reserves
of trona will last 2,350 years. According to the Wyoming Geological Survey, Wyoming mines have
produced over 633.2 million tons of trona since 1949.
Glass making consumes about half of the soda ash, followed by the chemical industry, which
uses about a quarter of the output. Other uses include soap, paper manufacturing, and water
treatment, and all baking soda comes from soda ash, which means you probably have a box of
Wyoming trona product in your kitchen.
VI. PLANT ECONOMY
The total capital investment and the annual production rate calculations for the monohydrate process
are shown in this section.
Table 2: Price of raw materials in Monohydrate process
Raw Materials Price (PhP per ton)
Trona ore 11837.92
Source: ICS News, January 2019
The formula for the computation of Fixed Capital Cost was taken from Chemical Engineering
Design Volume 6 by Coulson and Richardson:
𝐶𝑓 = 𝑓𝐿 𝐶𝑒
Where:
Operating Labor Cost = Operating Labor x Operating time x wage x Processing steps
Sale Expense:
𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 = 0.20 (𝑉𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 + 𝐹𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑠)
Production Cost:
𝐴𝑃𝐶
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 =
(𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦/𝐷𝑎𝑦)(300 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟)
₱ 23,104,541.85
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 =
(5𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠)(300 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟)
The annual production cost required for the plant to produce 5 tons/year of sodium carbonate
using Monohydrate process is estimated to be ₱23,104,541.85. Most of the amounts were allotted
for direct production cost. The estimates were made without the utilities cost that account for the
VII. MANUFACTURABILITY
PURITY
The sodium carbonate from trona ore by monohydrate process has a purity of 98%.
YIELD
The sodium carbonate from trona ore by monohydrate process has a product yield of 70%.
BY-PRODUCT
In the monohydrate process, there is no by-product produced other than carbon dioxide
and wastewater.
PROCESS USAGE
The production of soda ash from trona by monohydrate process is being used by different
plants around the world such as
• Tata Chemicals Ltd.
- Wyoming, USA
• FMC Soda Ash Plant
- Wyoming,USA and China
• ETI SODA by Ciner group
- Denmark
VIII. SUSTAINABILITY
The raw materials for process 3, trona ore is available in China. The world’s largest deposit
of trona is in Wyoming, which supplies 90 % of United states’ soda ash. It produced over 17.4 million
tons of trona and employed 2,225 people in 2018. Some of the manufacturing plants of trona in China
are FMC Soda Ash Plant, Ciner Wyoming and Genesis Alkali.
Trona
The U.S. trona market size was valued at USD 1.33 billion in 2017 and it is expected to
register a CAGR of 1.7% from 2018 to 2025. The market is anticipated to be driven by increasing
demand for trona from animal feed, air pollution control, and soda ash industries. Trona is primarily
used to manufacture soda ash, by heating it to a very high temperature and converting it to sodium
bicarbonate. Soda ash is used as a raw material in detergents, textiles, and glass. Thus, rise in the
demand for soda ash is among primary factors driving the market growth.
The market is strengthened by the availability of huge bedded and interbedded trona
deposits situated in Green River Basin of Wyoming. Most of the trona in the region is mined through
conventional continuous as well as room and pillar mining methods. The companies engaged in
mining business are focused on improving the mining technique solutions to increase product
recovery. (Industry Analysis Report, 2018)
Figure 2. Trona Market Size
IX. SAFETY
Table 4 shows the range of operating parameter for the Monohydrate Process
Parameters Range
Temperature 40-300 oC
Pressure 1 atm
Toxicological Rating
Toxicity level of raw materials was analyzed based on the corresponding health hazards that
it may cause to humans. The basis for attaining the level of toxicity was in Table 5. which explains in
detail the health hazards of the raw materials. It is obtained from the Material Safety Data Sheet of
each raw material used in the process.
Table 5: Health Hazard Rating of Raw Materials from Process 3
Toxicity level of raw materials is analyzed, which may be seen in table 7, based on the
corresponding health hazards that it may cause to humans. Basis for attaining the level of toxicity
was in table 5, which explains in detail the health hazards of the raw materials and from the
information in table 5, health hazard rating was made taking 0 - for minimal hazard and no significant
risk to health,1- slight hazard or minor reversible injury possible, 2 - moderate hazard temporary or
minor injury may occur, 3 - serious hazard major injury likely unless prompt action is taken and
medical treatment given, 4 - severe hazard, life-threatening, major of permanent damage may result
from single or repeated exposures.
X. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The production of soda ash from trona by monohydrate process creates significant volumes
of wastewater that must be treated prior to discharge or recycle. These may contain both mineral
(e.g. shale) and salt impurities.
Environmental hazard level of raw materials is analyzed, which may be seen in table 5, based on the
corresponding hazards that it may cause to environment. Basis for attaining the level of hazard to the
environment was in table 6., which explains in detail the possible environmental hazards of the raw materials
and from the information in table 6. environmental hazard rating was made taking 0 – for minimal hazard and
no significant risk to environment, 1 - slight hazard or minor reversible damage possible, 2 - moderate hazard
temporary or minor damage may occur, 3 - serious hazard major damage to environment unless prompt
action is taken, 4 - severe hazard, permanent damage may result.
Table 8. Environmental Hazard Level Scores of Raw Materials in Solvay Process