Nicolas Leblanc
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Leblanc was a French
chemist
and surgeon
who discovered how to manufacture soda from common salt
.
. His father, a minor official at an iron works, died in 1751. Leblanc was sent to Bourges
to live with Dr. Bien, a close family friend. Under the influence of his guardian, Leblanc developed an interest in medicine
. When Bien died in 1759, Leblanc enrolled at the École de Chirurgie
(College of Surgeons) in Paris to study medicine.
Graduating with a master's degree in surgery, Leblanc opened a medical practice. He married in 1775, and the couple's first child followed four years later. Unable to provide adequately for his family on the medical fees he obtained from his patients, Leblanc in 1780 accepted a position as the private physician to the household of the Louis Philip II, Duke of Orléans.
The Leblanc process
In 1775, the French Academy of Sciences
offered a prize for a process whereby soda ash could be produced from salt. The French Academy wanted to promote the production of much-needed sodium carbonate
from inexpensive sodium chloride
.
By 1791, Nicolas Leblanc had succeeded in producing sodium carbonate from salt by a 2-step process. In the first step, sodium chloride is mixed with concentrated sulfuric acid
at temperatures of 800-900 °C
; hydrochloric acid
is evolved, leaving solid sodium sulfate. In the second step, the sodium sulfate is crushed, mixed with charcoal
and limestone
and again heated in a furnace
.
The prize was awarded to Nicolas Leblanc for a process which used sea salt and sulfuric acid as the raw material
s. Later a plant (of his own) was in operation producing 320 ton
s of soda ash per year. The process, however, is now obsolete and is superseded by the extremely profitable and convenient Solvay process
.
In 1802 Napoleon returned the plant (but not the prize) to him, but by then Leblanc could not afford to run it. He committed suicide
by a gunshot to the head in 1806.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
who discovered how to manufacture soda from common salt
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
.
Earlier days
Leblanc was born in Ivoy le Pré, Cher, FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. His father, a minor official at an iron works, died in 1751. Leblanc was sent to Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
to live with Dr. Bien, a close family friend. Under the influence of his guardian, Leblanc developed an interest in medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. When Bien died in 1759, Leblanc enrolled at the École de Chirurgie
École de Chirurgie
-History:The Ecole de chirurgie is located in Paris, France. It was designed by the architect Jacques Gondouin from 1769 to 1774 after surgery came to be recognized as a specialized discipline in the medical sciences. This was due to the respect that King Louis XV had for his Premier Chirurgien ,...
(College of Surgeons) in Paris to study medicine.
Graduating with a master's degree in surgery, Leblanc opened a medical practice. He married in 1775, and the couple's first child followed four years later. Unable to provide adequately for his family on the medical fees he obtained from his patients, Leblanc in 1780 accepted a position as the private physician to the household of the Louis Philip II, Duke of Orléans.
The Leblanc processLeblanc processThe Leblanc process was the industrial process for the production of soda ash used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc. It involved two stages: Production of sodium sulfate from sodium chloride, followed by reaction of the sodium sulfate with coal and calcium...
In 1775, the French Academy of SciencesFrench Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
offered a prize for a process whereby soda ash could be produced from salt. The French Academy wanted to promote the production of much-needed sodium carbonate
Sodium carbonate
Sodium carbonate , Na2CO3 is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. It most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate. Sodium carbonate is domestically well-known for its everyday use as a water softener. It can be extracted from the...
from inexpensive sodium chloride
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
.
By 1791, Nicolas Leblanc had succeeded in producing sodium carbonate from salt by a 2-step process. In the first step, sodium chloride is mixed with concentrated sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
at temperatures of 800-900 °C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
; hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
is evolved, leaving solid sodium sulfate. In the second step, the sodium sulfate is crushed, mixed with charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and again heated in a furnace
Furnace
A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the...
.
The prize was awarded to Nicolas Leblanc for a process which used sea salt and sulfuric acid as the raw material
Raw material
A raw material or feedstock is the basic material from which a product is manufactured or made, frequently used with an extended meaning. For example, the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Latex, iron ore, logs, and crude...
s. Later a plant (of his own) was in operation producing 320 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of soda ash per year. The process, however, is now obsolete and is superseded by the extremely profitable and convenient Solvay process
Solvay process
The Solvay process, also referred to as the ammonia-soda process, is the major industrial process for the production of soda ash . The ammonia-soda process was developed into its modern form by Ernest Solvay during the 1860s...
.
Final days
Two years later the plant was confiscated by the French revolutionary government, which refused to pay him the prize money he had earned ten years earlier.In 1802 Napoleon returned the plant (but not the prize) to him, but by then Leblanc could not afford to run it. He committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by a gunshot to the head in 1806.