Soda ash producers
As a major soda ash production site, you need to decarbonise in line with (inter)national regulations while remaining competitive. Blue Capsule can meet your needs so that your plants stay operational.
But why is Blue Capsule suited to this market?
The Solvay process is particularly energy-intensive, requiring 6 to 10 GJ per tonne of sodium carbonate in modern plants. This consumption is mainly distributed across three stages: limestone calcination (1000 °C), bicarbonate calcination (200 °C), and ammonia regeneration (150 °C). Heat for limestone calcination traditionally comes from the combustion of coke or natural gas.
Integrating Blue Capsule into this process offers significant opportunities for energy optimisation. Steam production for bicarbonate calcination and ammonia regeneration can be entirely supplied by the reactor. A single Blue Capsule unit can provide enough steam to process 650,000 tonnes of sodium carbonate per year, which means that most European sites would be able to host between one and two Blue Capsule units.
European integration and deployment potential
An analysis of the European market reveals a deployment potential of 15 Blue Capsule units to meet the steam demand of the Solvay process. This estimate is based on the production capacity of existing sites and their specific energy needs. The Dombasle site in France, with its 700,000 tonnes/year and 145 MW steam demand, perfectly illustrates this dimensional compatibility.
The economic competitiveness of Blue Capsule in this sector is particularly attractive. With a reference-scenario steam LCOE of €62/MWh (discount rate 7.35%), the nuclear solution competes effectively with coal and natural gas—especially when factoring in the expected evolution of carbon prices on the EU ETS market.
Did you know?
The Solvay process, invented in 1861 by Ernest Solvay, produces sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃) from sodium chloride (salt) and calcium carbonate (limestone). This complex process involves several interconnected chemical steps. The first step is the calcination of limestone at 1000 °C: CaCO₃ → CaO + CO₂, producing quicklime and carbon dioxide required for later stages.
The CO₂ produced is then used to carbonate an ammoniacal brine solution, forming sodium bicarbonate according to: NH₃ + CO₂ + H₂O + NaCl → NaHCO₃ + NH₄Cl.
Sodium bicarbonate precipitates and is filtered, then calcined at 200 °C to yield the final sodium carbonate: 2NaHCO₃ → Na₂CO₃ + H₂O + CO₂.
Ammonia is regenerated by treating the ammonium chloride solution with quicklime at 150 °C.
