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Potash (/ ˈ p ɒ t æ ʃ / POT-ash) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. [1] The name derives from pot ash, plant ashes or wood ash soaked in water in a pot, the primary means of manufacturing potash before the Industrial Era. The word potassium is derived from potash. [2]
The Solvay process or ammonia–soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na 2 CO 3).The ammonia–soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the 1860s. [1]
Soil develops through a series of changes. [2] The starting point is weathering of freshly accumulated parent material.A variety of soil microbes (bacteria, archaea, fungi) feed on simple compounds released by weathering and produce organic acids and specialized proteins which contribute in turn to mineral weathering.
These activities include loosening the soil, seeding, special watering, moving plants when they grow bigger, and harvesting, among others. Without these activities, a crop cannot be grown. The main steps for agricultural practices include preparation of soil, sowing, adding manure and fertilizers, irrigation, harvesting and storage.
[22] [18] The industry developed out of demand for ashed soda, or potash, which was used to create glass and soap, and led to shortages for agricultural applications in traditional coastal communities. Potash is a water-soluble potassium rich concentrate made from plant matter, so it was also exported as a fertilizer. [18]
Potash pits were kiln sites which were dug and lined with drystone walling for the production of potash prior to the Industrial Revolution.The scouring or degreasing of the natural lanolin from wool requires the application of soft soap produced using fat and an alkaline potash solution [1] that contains water-soluble potassium salts such as potassium carbonate and potassium hydroxide.
The potash could then be baked in a kiln to further refine the substance into a pearly white material called pearl ash, pearl-ash or pearlash. The lye and potash stages were commonly performed on site by the settlers themselves, and the asheries only performed the final step and most difficult step of converting the black salts to pearlash.
These potash huts were small, rectangular stone houses with a parlour and kitchen and a wood store above them. In the corner of the kitchen a large, round iron cauldron used for potash boiling stood on the brick stove and a chimney rose from there up to the gabled roof. In the three walls opposite the entrance were small windows.