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Even if we split NaCl into its constituent parts -- sodium metal and chlorine gas -- there's not a whole lot that can be done with them. Sodium is potentially
by A_D_E_P_T 3y ago
Even if we split NaCl into its constituent parts -- sodium metal and chlorine gas -- there's not a whole lot that can be done with them.
Sodium is potentially useful towards two applications, off the top of my head. (1) Na2O is used in glassmaking, and it's possible that there are -- or that there can be discovered -- Na2O-enriched glasses that can be used in construction and as a filler substance, i.e. reduced to powder and added to cement. (2) Sodium-based zeolites can potentially be useful for carbon capture. Production of zeolites, however, also requires lots of alumina and silica.
I struggle to think of any large-scale application for all of that chlorine, though. Maybe vinyl chloride production? But the world doesn't need that much PVC...
- tonymillion 3y agoAlso in the production of Sodium batteries, which while significantly lower in energy density compared to Lithium, they have bigger cycle counts (and as such are/can be used to buffer grid based wind/solar generation)
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoI'm a proponent of just stockpiling it, spray it onto a large basin and form a salt lake, let it evaporate to a solid as deep or as high up as it needs to be. That's a stockpile that can eventually find a use. Or not, in which case it's harmless, assuming the salt doesn't go into the ground. Or does, if it's a desert or otherwise 'dead'.