The glass industry is a major user of the soda ash manufactured to customer specifications by Tata Chemicals

TCL offers a broad range of soda ash grades, in terms of densities and particle size distribution, for various applications. The single largest use of dense soda ash is in the manufacture of glass. TCL also customises soda ash to cater to client specifications.

Dense soda ash is mainly used in the production of a variety of glass articles. In order to lower the melting temperature of sand (more than 1,700^o Celsius), and to be able to use appropriate melting containers, a fluxing agent, usually sodium oxide, is introduced to the glass batch. Soda ash (sodium carbonate) is introduced to the glass batch as anhydrous, white powder. During the melting process, sodium oxide becomes part of the glass. Carbon dioxide is released, and is allowed to escape.

TCL offers its customers the option of customising its soda ash to suit their requirements for glass in various shapes, sizes and forms: flat glass and mirrors, bottles for beverages, jars for storing food, insulation materials, bulbs and other lighting, glassware, tableware, float glass, tubes for televisions and computers, and laboratory ware.

These factors are critical because it determines the properties of the final product. The soda ash that TCL makes meets the stringent quality requirements of the glass industry. The bulk density of TCL's soda ash ensures uniform blending; the low chloride gives it more furnace life and the lack of lumps guarantees uniform blending, resulting in a negligible loss of soda in the furnace. Dense ash grains smaller than sand grains are preferred. The finer sodium carbonate grain is then capable of distributing more evenly on the surface of silica grains promoting early removal of CO² before the liquid seals off the voids and channels in the batch.