Solvay claims soda ash breakthrough

Abstract

Solvay is piloting a soda ash production process that it claims will reduce CO 2 emissions by half and eliminate limestone in its effluent, which currently contributes to the release of heavy metals into the sea. The company has reached a settlement with the activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners that calls for it to roll out the new process across all of its soda ash plants by 2050. In parallel, Solvay will take shorter-term measures to reduce the amount of limestone released into the sea from its plant in Rosignano, Italy. Solvay is the world’s largest producer of soda ash (sodium carbonate), which is used to make glass and other products. Solvay’s process uses brine and limestone as raw materials and ammonia as a catalyst. The process creates large amounts of CO 2 from the burning of fossil fuels and generates powdery limestone, which contains traces of heavy metals. The