Abstract: A process is described for producing sodium-based chemicals from a brine containing sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate by heating the brine to evaporate water and drive off carbon dioxide and obtain a solution that will crystallize sodium sesquicarbonate, cooling the solution, precipitating sodium sesquicarbonate crystals and separating a first mother liquor from the sesquicarbonate crystals. The first mother liquor is then cooled to a lower temperature to precipitate sodium carbonate decahydrate crystals, the decahydrate crystals are separated from a second mother liquor and the decahydrate crystals are recovered for use in the manufacture of sodium-containing chemicals, such as sodium carbonate monohydrate, anhydrous sodium carbonate or soda ash.

Abstract: Process for disposing of insoluble tailings that remain when solubilizing uncalcined or calcined trona in the process of producing soda ash, in which the tailings are slurried with water or waste solutions of sodium carbonate and/or sodium bicarbonate, adding an alkali metal hydroxide or alkaline earth metal hydroxide in effective amounts up to about 10% by weight of the aqueous slurrying solution, pumping the slurry into a well connected to an underground mined-out cavity with sufficient pressure to prevent build-up of tailings from plugging the bottom of the well opening, dispersing and settling said tailings in the cavity, removing a liquor from said cavity whose concentration of sodium carbonate and/or sodium bicarbonate has been increased and recovering such enriched liquor for use in the manufacture of sodium-containing chemicals such as soda ash.

Abstract: Process for disposal of insoluble tailings that remain when solubilizing uncalcined or calcined trona in the process of producing soda ash, in which tailings are slurried with a saturated or substantially saturated solution of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and mixtures thereof, pumping said slurry into a well connected to an underground mined-out cavity with sufficient pressure to prevent the build-up of tailings from plugging the bottom of the well opening, dispersing and settling said tailings and a retained portion of the solution in the cavity, removing solution from said cavity and conveying it to the surface, recovering the removed solution for recycle and slurrying of additional tailings, and adding as make-up liquor to replace the solution retained in the cavity, a saturated or substantially saturated solution of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and mixtures thereof. The preferred solution employed in this process is purge solution which is discarded from a crystallizer circuit.

Abstract: Process for disposing of insoluble tailings that remain when solubilizing uncalcined or calcined trona in the process of producing soda ash, in which the tailings are slurried with water or waste solutions of sodium carbonate and/or sodium bicarbonate, pumping the slurry into a well connected to an underground mined-out cavity with sufficient pressure to prevent build-up of tailings from plugging the bottom of the well opening, dispersing and settling said tailings in the cavity, removing a liquor from said cavity whose concentration of sodium carbonate and/or sodium bicarbonate has been increased and recovering such enriched liquor for use in the manufacture of sodium-containing chemicals such as soda ash.

Abstract: A method for recovering alkali values from subterranean deposits of trona ore associated with sodium chloride by contacting the trona with an aqueous mining solution containing sodium hydroxide and subsequently utilizing the alkali values contained in the resultant salt- and sodium carbonate-containing solution. The alkali values are preferably crystallized as substantially salt-free sodium carbonate monohydrate, which is dried to recover soda ash. The mother liquor containing all of the salt is then treated to prepare a dilute sodium hydroxide solution, which may be employed as aqueous mining solution in a cyclic method to recover additional alkali values from trona.

Abstract: Improved process for preparing sodium carbonate from crude trona without carbon column scaling by evaporating a portion of water from a clarified sodium carbonate solution to crystallize sodium carbonate crystals therefrom, separating the sodium carbonate crystals from the crystallizer liquor, passing only the crystallizer liquor which contains organic impurities through a carbon column to reduce the organic impurity concentration therein, and evaporating a portion of water from the carbon treated crystallizer liquor to crystallize additional sodium carbonate crystals.

Abstract: A method for recovering alkali value from sodium bicarbonate-containing ore by utilizing an aqueous solvent containing ammonia. The aqueous ammonia solvent is contacted with the ore to solubilize the sodium bicarbonate-containing ore. The alkali values in the resulting solution are crystallized, preferably as sodium carbonate monohydrate or as sodium sesquicarbonate, which may be processed to recover soda ash. Aqueous ammonia solvent is preferably regenerated from the mother liquor remaining after recovery of the solids, the ammonia solvent then being employed in a cyclic method to recover additional alkali values from the ore.