Solutions · Soda Ash Storage
Soda ash and sodium bicarbonate absorb moisture, cake, and dust during filling. PW Silo Systems designs aluminum and stainless steel silos for soda ash and sodium salts with you – with the right material, discharge aids, and dust collection for your product.
Soda Ash Storage at a Glance
A soda ash silo stores sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or other sodium salts close to production – for glass, detergents, chemicals, water treatment, flue gas cleaning, or food. It protects the product from moisture and feeds it in a controlled way to dosing and mixing.
Soda ash and sodium bicarbonate are hygroscopic: when they absorb moisture, they cake and bridge. Soda ash is also alkaline. That is why the silo material, the design, and the discharge equipment are defined together with you for your product and your site.
Why Soda Ash Is Demanding
Soda ash looks simple, but moisture, caking, and dust decide whether a soda ash silo runs reliably.
Soda ash and sodium bicarbonate absorb moisture from the air. Damp product cakes into lumps and bridges at the outlet.
Soda ash is alkaline. The silo material and design must suit the product, its moisture, and your operating conditions.
Light and dense soda ash differ in bulk density and flow behavior – a silo designed for one grade may not suit the other.
Fine soda ash and bicarbonate dust spreads during pneumatic filling and conveying and settles on equipment.
In funnel flow, product can stay in the silo for a long time and cake while fresh product passes through the center.
Soda ash, bicarbonate, sodium sulfate, and other salts must not be mixed by accident – especially when food grades are involved.
Silo Materials
We build silos exclusively in aluminum and stainless steel. Carbon steel is not an option for us: its coating is the only protection against corrosion – and soda ash is alkaline and hygroscopic.
Which of our two materials and which design fit your soda ash silo depends on the product, its moisture, your process, and your site. We define the material and the design with you.
Your Soda Ash Silo System
Silo, discharge, blending, filtration, and monitoring are engineered as one system. That means fewer interfaces for your team and components that are designed to work together.
Storage
Concentric mass-flow discharge without asymmetric flow zones – as standard, site-assembled, indoor, or multi-compartment silos.
Learn moreBlending
Gravity blending and homogenizing with four technologies, including PW ConeBlend with a hopper that is quick to clean.
Learn moreDischarge
Air fluidization for uniform discharge of poorly flowing products – prevents bridging and can be retrofitted to existing silos.
Learn moreDischarge
Vibration from unbalanced motors breaks up cohesive forces, resolves caking, and keeps the outlet clear.
Learn moreFiltration
Dust separation during pneumatic filling and conveying – sized for fine powders.
Learn moreMonitoring
Level measurement for reliable monitoring of the silo content – so you know when to reorder.
Learn moreSoda Ash & Sodium Salts
Products marked “Tested in our lab” are on our list of bulk materials. The others we review with you based on your material data before designing the silo.
Tested in our lab
Soda ash, sodium carbonate, light and dense soda ash, Na₂CO₃
Soda ash is on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab. Silo and discharge are designed for its hygroscopic nature.
Tested in our lab
Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, bicarbonate of soda, NaHCO₃
Sodium bicarbonate is on our tested list – for food, feed, and flue gas cleaning. Outlet and discharge aids are planned for caking.
Tested in our lab
Sodium sulfate, salt cake, Na₂SO₄
Sodium sulfate is on our tested list. Its moisture and grain size are considered in the outlet and discharge design.
Tested in our lab
Sodium nitrate, NaNO₃
Sodium nitrate is on our tested list. Product-specific safety requirements for your site we review with you.
Review with us
Sodium percarbonate
Sodium percarbonate is used in detergents and cleaning products. We review your product data and requirements with you.
Review with us
Trona, sodium sesquicarbonate
Trona is used for flue gas treatment. Grain size and moisture vary – we review your material data with you.
Also tested in our lab:
Send us your material data and we will review the right solution with you:
Product Check
Type in your soda ash, sodium salt, or any other bulk material to see whether it has already been tested in our lab. The list covers 287 bulk materials.
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Service in the U.S.
With more than 40 years of experience in silo engineering, we support your soda ash silo project from the first design discussion to commissioning. We deliver to every U.S. state and install with our own qualified personnel.
FAQ
Answers to the questions plant managers, engineers, and buyers ask most often about storing soda ash and sodium salts in silos.
Dry soda ash and other sodium salts can be stored in a properly designed silo. These products are on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab:
Sodium percarbonate, trona, and other sodium salts we review with you based on your material data.
We build silos exclusively in aluminum and stainless steel – never in coated carbon steel. Which material and which design fit your product depends on the product, its moisture, your process, and your site. We define them with you.
A closed silo protects the product from outside moisture. Discharge aids such as PW SpeedBlow air fluidization and bin activators break up bridges and caking and keep the outlet clear. The right combination depends on your product.
Yes. Light and dense soda ash differ in bulk density and flow behavior. Hopper geometry, outlet, and discharge aids are designed for the grade you use – tell us which one it is.
In mass flow, the entire silo content moves downward when material is discharged – not just a channel in the center. Your soda ash leaves the silo in the order it came in (first in, first out), and no product is left behind in dead zones. Our PW StoreLine silos are designed for concentric mass-flow discharge without asymmetric flow zones.
Integrated filters and PW FilterLine dust collectors separate dust during pneumatic filling and conveying. Filter size and venting are matched to your filling rate and your product.
The right size depends on your daily consumption, delivery intervals, the number of products, and the space available at your site. PW StoreLine silos are available in a wide range of sizes and diameters, and silos too large for road transport are assembled on site. We size the system with you – without oversized investment.
Yes. We deliver to every U.S. state and support your project with silo transport, field assembly, silo installation and supervision, and site relocation of existing systems.
Very likely. Our silo systems are designed for nearly all free-flowing, granular, and powdered bulk solids. Send us your material details – particle size, bulk density, moisture, and how the product is filled and discharged – and we will review the right storage solution with you.
Tell us about your products, required storage capacity, how the silo is filled and discharged, and your site conditions. Based on this, we work out the material, silo type, and configuration with you and send you a detailed quote.
