| Process type | Chemical |
|---|---|
| Industrial sector(s) | Chlor-alkali industry |
| Feedstock | sodium chloride, sulfuric acid, coal, calcium carbonate |
| Product(s) | soda ash, hydrochloric acid, calcium sulfide, carbon dioxide |
| Inventor | Nicolas Leblanc |
| Year of invention | 1791 |
| Developer(s) | William Losh, James Muspratt, Charles Tennant |
The Leblanc process was an early industrial process for making soda ash (sodium carbonate) used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc. It involved two stages: making sodium sulfate from sodium chloride, followed by reacting the sodium sulfate with coal and calcium carbonate to make sodium carbonate. The process gradually became obsolete after the development of the Solvay process.