Another way to produce sodium is by electrolysis of sea salt brine. You need lots of power. A by-product is hydrogen chloride which is a bit dangerous to handl

Another way to produce sodium is by electrolysis of sea salt brine. You need lots of power. A by-product is hydrogen chloride which is a bit dangerous to handle. Pure sodium itself is also tricky: it reacts violently with water. Even humidity in air is enough to start a fire with pure sodium. There's a company in France that uses electrolysis to produce metal sodium: Metaux Speciaux SA.