Sodium sulfate is defined as the sodium salt of sulfuric acid. The sodium sulphate chemical formula is Na2SO4. Anhydrous sulfate can be described as a white crystalline solid, which is also called mineral thenardite, whereas, the decahydrate Na2SO4.10H2O has been called either mirabilis or Glauber's salt. When Na2SO4.7H2O is cooled, it is transformed to mirabilite, which is the natural mineral form of decahydrate. About two-thirds of the sodium sulfate's world's production is obtained from mirabilite. It is also formed from the by-products of chemical processes like hydrochloric acid production.
Discovery of Sodium Sulphate
Johann Rudolf Glauber discovered the sodium sulfate in 1625 from Austrian spring water there the hydrate form is called Glauber's salt. Because of its medicinal properties, he named it as sal mirabilis (which is otherwise called miraculous salt).
Until the 1900s, the crystals present here were used as a general-purpose laxative, by reaction either with potash or potassium carbonate, where, in the 18th century, Glauber's salt was used as a raw material for the industrial production of soda ash. In the 19thcentury, the demand for soda ash increased, so the large-scale Leblanc process which produced the synthetic sodium sulfate has become the principal method in the production of soda ash. At dietary levels, the excretion is primarily in the urine. Sulfates are found in the entire body cells, with the highest concentrations in bone, connective tissue, and cartilage. Sulfates also play a major role in many important metabolic pathways, including those involved in the detoxification processes.
Sodium Sulphate Uses
1.Sodium sulfate can be used to dry organic liquids.
2.It is used as a filler in-home laundry detergent, in powder form.
3.It can be used as a fining agent which helps to remove small air bubbles from the molten glass.
4.Glauber's salt, which is a decahydrate, was used as a laxative to remove certain drugs like acetaminophen from the body.
5.It is also used for defrosting windows, in carpet fresheners, as an additive to cattle feed starch manufacture.
6.And, it is used in the Kraft process of paper pulping and in detergents manufacturing.