Sodium Carbonate:
Also known as soda ash, sodium carbonate is primarily used in glass production. Other applications are pH buffer and water softener. Sodium Carbonate can be mined (trona, natron and thermonatrite) or synthetically produced using sodium chloride and calcium carbonate. The term "Soda Ash" comes from traditional manufacturing method of burning seaweed and other high sodium containing plant material, and rehydrating the ashes to form sodium carbonate/soda ash.
Up Stream Materials/Building Blocks:
Sodium Chloride
Limestone (Calcium Carbonate)
​Sulfuric Acid
Natron (Sodium carbonate decahydrate)

Thermonatrite (Sodium carbonate monohydrate)

Trona (Trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate)
Seaweed (Barilla and Kelp)

Down Stream Materials Consuming Sodium Carbonate:

Glass Manufacturing
Water Purification

Sodium carbonate decahydrate

Sodium carbonate heptahydrate
Sodium carbonate monohydrate