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Sodium sulfate (Na2SO4), also called disodium sulfate, is used widely as an industrial chemical. It is an inorganic compound whose main ingredients are Sodium (Na) and Sulfur (S), and it occurs naturally as Thenardite. It can be created as a byproduct during certain industrial chemical processes, but even as a "waste" product, sodium sulfate is very useful. Sodium sulfate occurs naturally over millions of years of igneous rock erosion. When these rocks are gradually eroded by friction, the sodium content of the rocks is carried by water and eventually collects in natural basins, where it reacts with sulfur, which normally comes from eroding iron pyrite, volcanic sources or beds of gypsum. This chemical reaction produces a precipitate, which is sodium sulfate. This mineral, which collects in crystalline deposits, was named Thenardite, in honor of Louis Thenard, a French chemist. It tastes salty and dissolves in water.
Manufactured Sodium Sulfate
Sodium sulfate is often produced as a waste or byproduct during several industrial chemical processes. Manufacturing rayon, recycling battery acids, production of ascorbic and hydrochloric acids, cellulose and flue gas desulfurization are only a few of the processes which create sodium sulfate. The US generates about half of its domestically-produced sodium sulfate in this manner.
Uses for Sodium Sulfate
This waste or byproduct has many commercial and industrial applications. It is often used as a "filler" in powdered and liquid detergents and soaps, but has important uses in glassmaking, the manufacture of wood pulp products and paper, and the production of textiles and fabrics. Sodium sulfate is also used as a laboratory drying agent, a window de-frosting ingredient, during starch production, in carpet cleaners, and even as an additive to cattle feed. One interesting application for the compound is in solar panels as a passive heat storage medium.
