When it is stored in a moisture-free area, soda ash has an indefinite shelf life. If soda ash is stored in an environment with high humidity, or is allowed to get wet, it will react with moisture and can become chunky.

For additional information on saftey and handling refer to our MSDS.

Other important conveyance information

When discharging soda ash from a hopper car, it’s a good idea to provide canvas sleeve adapters between the car’s discharge gates and the hopper under the track. This will help provide a constant feed into the hopper, and make for a cleaner discharging process.

Selecting the correct conveyance method is critical to proper soda ash handling. For example, when designing a system for unloading bulk soda ash from bottom-dump hopper cars, it’s important to first determine whether or not the soda ash must be protected during conveyance.

OCI soda ash is granular, free flowing and relatively dustless. If it is carried by conveyor systems that abrade the product, its granular nature may be altered. This could result in adverse product performance in certain applications, and create dust problems during handling and storage.

BULK HANDLING OPTIONS:

Elevators

Where adequate space is available, an inclined belt is usually the most satisfactory, maintenance-free system for elevating soda ash. If there’s not enough space, a belt-type bucket elevator is the next best choice.

One must pay careful attention to the design of the elevator in order to avoid overloading — which may cause a plugged chute, or burn the belt. A fairly deep elevator pit is needed so the buckets can be loaded on the vertical leg, and not be forced to dig out of the boot. In addition, a curved plate should be installed at the head of the ascending leg. This will prevent the soda ash from being discharged before it has passed the head pulley. Unless hot material is going to be handled, the belt elevator is considered a better choice than a chain conveyor. Belt elevators are easier to inspect for wear, and can be replaced prior to failure. Buckets should be lined steel or nylon.

Horsepower Requirements*: To elevate by bucket elevator 10 tons/hour through 100 feet height: 2hp

Drag Chain Conveyors

Drag chain conveyors, which consist of one or more chains with moving attachments (or flights) running through a set of guides, are frequently used to handle soda ash. This type of conveyor causes very little grinding of the product, so drag chain systems are a better choice than pneumatic or screw conveyor systems when particle size is important. Drag conveyors can be used to move soda ash horizontally, or up inclines of 17 degrees or less. Unit lengths commonly approach 300 feet.

Horsepower Requirements*: To convey 10 tons/hour through 100 feet distance by level belt: 0.2 to 0.5hp

Pneumatic Conveyors

Pneumatic conveyors fluidize soda ash with air. They either suck or blow the material through a pipeline to a separator, which then deposits the material and discharges the cleaned air. Pneumatic conveyors alter the flow properties of soda ash; this may cause it to hang up or bridge in storage. Generally, pneumatic systems are unsuitable when particle breakage cannot be tolerated.

Depending on the length of the conveying line, the constancy of feed, and the capacity of the blowers, pneumatic systems are usually capable of handling 5 to 15 tons per hour through a 4-inch line. 500 feet is generally considered the maximum distance for which a pneumatic conveyor can economically be used. While pneumatic systems have the advantage of being totally enclosed, they are generally more expensive than other conveying systems.

Horsepower Requirements*: To convey 10 tons/hour through 100 feet distance by air suction system: 30 to 60hp

Screw Conveyors

Within limits of 50 to 100 feet in length, screw-type conveyors can be used for moving soda ash. But they also have the inherent disadvantage of pneumatic systems, in that they tend to grind the material, destroying its granularity. In addition, special attention must be paid to the design of the system's bearings in order to avoid contaminating the soda ash with lubricants, and vice versa. (The lubricant can be contaminated with the soda ash, quickly destroying its protective properties.) In some cases, screw conveyors are provided with special bearings that require no lubrication. Each flight of a screw conveyor should, of course, be arranged so that it can be lifted vertically for maintenance without disturbing adjoining flights.

The internal ribbon type conveyor has no particular advantage over the screw conveyor. If it becomes plugged with product, it has the disadvantage of being extremely difficult to free up.

Screw conveyors are available in a wide range of sizes and capacities. See manufacturer catalogs for more details.

Horsepower Requirements*: To convey 10 tons/hour through 100 feet distance by screw conveyor: 5 to 7.5hp

STORAGE OPTIONS:

Bulk Soda Ash

We recommend epoxy-lined steel storage bins. If the granular nature of the ash is intact after conveying and elevating, there should be no problems with the material bridging or hanging up in storage. Ensuring the cone at the bottom is at a 45-55 degree angle from the horizontal is strongly advised. Storage bin capacity should be figured at 55 lbs. per cubic foot, although OCI soda ash normally runs closer to 60 lbs. per cubic foot. If the storage bin is designed with a sufficient bottom slope, vibration should not be necessary. What’s more, vibration is undesirable, as it promotes segregation and classification of the particle sizes.

Soda Ash Solution

These solutions are generally stored in a tank. Soda ash is inversely soluble above 95.7 degrees F; that is, as the temperature falls, more material goes into the solution. Solubility reaches a maximum of 32.3% soda ash by weight at this inflection point (95.7 degrees F) and then falls steeply with decreasing temperature. Since the presence of soda ash crystals is unacceptable in most processes, the concentration of a substantial amount of solution will require an excessive tankage volume. Example: Adding 100 tons of soda ash to water to make a 25% solution by weight requires about 85,000 gallons of tankage.

Soda Ash Slurry

An alternative to large volume tankage is a slurry storage system that consists of a tank, a device for slurrying the dry bulk soda ash and transferring it to the storage tank (slurrifier), and a method for reclaiming the solution from the common tank. To slurry a 100-ton hopper car of soda ash to a 70% solids slurry requires a tank about the same size as dry bulk storage. Slurries of up to 90% solids are easily stored.

Bagged Soda Ash

Bagged soda ash that is stored in a warehouse environment free from excessive humidity or moisture should present no problems. However, if proper inventory management practices such as "FIFO" (First In, First Out) are not applied, or the product is exposed to high levels of humidity or moisture, some caking of material is possible.

Horsepower Requirements*: To convey 10 tons/hour through 100 feet distance by screw conveyor: 5 to 7.5hp

Safety precautions for soda ash handling.

Although not listed as a hazardous substance, soda ash is primarily a skin irritant. Dusts or mists containing soda ash are moderately irritating to the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes. The irritation is temporary, however, and symptoms usually disappear shortly after contact ends. Eyes and skin should be flushed with water if exposed. A physician should treat prolonged irritation.

Protective clothing, goggles and respirators should be used if soda ash in the air exceeds nuisance dust levels. Dusty clothing should be washed before exposure to other compounds. In extreme cases, mixtures of soda ash and lime may produce caustic soda in the presence of perspiration, which may be irritating.

Workers in soda ash storage bins or soda ash silos should wear a properly roped safety belt to facilitate rescue in case of shifts or slides. They also should maintain continuous communication with someone stationed outside the storage facility.

Soda ash is non-explosive, non-flammable and is not regulated for shipping by the U.S. Department of Transportation due to its non-hazardous status.

Complete health and safety information is contained in our MSDS.

*Use these horsepower requirements to get a better idea of how efficient each of the various conveyance systems are.

Note: All statements, information, and data given herein are believed to be accurate and reliable but are presented without guaranty, warranty, or responsibility of any kind, express or implied. Statements or suggestions concerning possible use of our products are made without representation or warranty that any such use is free of patent infringement and are not recommendations to infringe on any patent. The user should not assume that all safety measures are indicated or that other measures may not be required.