SODIUM SULPHATE: Explained Completely
by : Rahul Sharma
SODIUM SULPHATE:
Sodium Sulphate Formula is Na2SO4. All forms are white solids that are highly soluble in water. With an annual production of 6 million tonnes, the decahydrate is a major commodity chemical product. It is mainly used for the manufacture of detergents and in the kraft process of paper pulping. It is available in two types, anhydrate and decahydrate. Its content analysis can be conducted based on the precipitation method using barium chloride .
An excess amount of barium chloride is added into the sample solution which has been filtered beforehand to form BaSO4 precipitate as indicated by the following reaction:
Na2SO4 + BaCl2 →2NaCl + BaSO4↓
