Mineral Resources Potential - Geothermal Resources

126 ~in&al Resources Potential of Ethiopia
through various chemical processes, primarily the Solvay synthetic
soda ash +prpdwtion process. Total world natural soda ash.
production reprebented abut 31 % of combined (bath natural md
synthetic) world sdda ash production, The five leading producers
were the United stab, china, Russia, India, and Germany,
accounting for 71 % of world production in 2003 (McVey, 1989).
Applications
I Domestically it is used as a water softener during laundry. It
competes with the ions magnesih and calcium in hard water and
* prevents them b m bmding with the detergent bein4 used. Without
using washing soda, additiqnal detergent is needed to soak up the
magnesium and dcim iqns. Colled washing soda in the detergent
section of Ares, it effectively removes oil, grease, and alcohol
stains. Sodium carbonate is kidely used in photographic pmcesses
as a pH igulator to main* stable alkaline conditions necessary
for the action of the majority ,of developing agents (McVey,
1989). Sdum carbonate is also used by the brick industry as a
wetting agent to reduce tho amouni of water needed to extrude the
clay. sodium carbonate is used in the mmufmtm of glass, pulp
and paper, detergents, and chemicals such as sodium silicates and
sodium phosphates. It is also used as an alkaline agent in many
chemical industries.
Soda mh depib in Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes, particuiarly, Lakes Abiyata and
Shala, contain huge volumes of tmna brines (460 Mt of sodium
carbonate in solution, at concentmtions ranging between 1.1 and
1.9 % (Mengistu and Fentad, 2000). Soda ash deposits are
localized in major volcano-tectonic depression (calderas) filled by
lacustrine deposits. Prolonged evaporation is responsible for the
ation in concentrations. Lake Shalla and Chitu have high