Soda ash which is a crucial raw material input for so many industries such as food, paper, chemical, glass, textile etc has been in the country's importation list for so many years, this has contributed in draining the nation's foreign exchange earnings.Nigeria presently, imports about 180,000 mt per annum of soda ash, with glass industry consuming about 50,000 mt per annum. The importance of soda ash as an industrial input (in terms of national demand) cannot be over emphasized and Nigeria stands to benefit economically if a processing plant could be established in the country. Apart from the trona purification method, the synthetic production technique is economically viable and available. The needed raw materials are available in the country and the machinery and technology can be sourced from abroad, while we work on developing our own technology.
