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Both the hepta- and the decahydrate effloresce (lose water) in dry air and are partially transformed into the monohydrate thermonatrite Na 2CO 3 H 2O), the decahydrate and the heptahydrate (Na 2CO 3 ♷H 2O), but is often used in industry to refer to the decahydrate only.The term hydrated sodium carbonate is commonly used to encompass the monohydrate (Na 2CO 3 It crystallizes in the monoclinic-domatic crystal system, typically forming efflorescences and encrustations. Sodium carbonate decahydrate has a specific gravity of 1.42 to 1.47 and a Mohs hardness of 1. Natron is also the mineralogical name for the compound sodium carbonate decahydrate (Na 2CO 3 ♱0H 2O), which is the main component in historical natron. Some of its ancient household roles are also now filled by ordinary baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate, natron's other key ingredient.Ĭhemistry of hydrated sodium carbonate Soda ash also replaced natron in glass-making. Natron's detergent properties are now commercially supplied by soda ash (pure sodium carbonate), the mixture's chief compound ingredient, along with other chemicals.

Most of natron's uses both in the home and by industry were gradually replaced with closely related sodium compounds and minerals. The mineral was also employed as a flux to solder precious metals together. It was used along with sand and lime in ceramic and glass-making by the Romans and others at least until AD 640. Natron is an ingredient for making a distinct color called Egyptian blue, and also as the flux in Egyptian faience. Thy mouth is the mouth of a sucking calf on the day of his birth.įive pellets of natron of the North, Wadi Natrûn ( št-p.t) Thou also purifiest (thyself)-thou who art among them.

Thou purifiest (thyself) the god purifies (himself). Thou purifiest (thyself) Thot purifies (himself). Thou purifiest (thyself) Set purifies (himself). Thou purifiest (thyself) Horus purifies (himself). Five pellets of natron from Nekheb, Upper Egypt. To say four times: Thou hast purified thyself with natron, together with Horus (and) the Followers of Horus. That which the two harmonious gods (spit out) is smin. O N., thou shalt taste its taste in front of the sḥ-ntr-chapels. The ceremony required two kinds of natron, one sourced from northern (Lower) and one from southern (Upper) Egypt. The Pyramid Texts describe how natron pellets were used as funerary offerings in the rites for the deceased pharaoh, "N". Natron was added to castor oil to make a smokeless fuel, which allowed Egyptian artisans to paint elaborate artworks inside ancient tombs without staining them with soot. In some cultures, natron was thought to enhance spiritual safety for both the living and the dead. Moreover, when exposed to moisture, the carbonate in natron increases pH (raises alkalinity), which creates a hostile environment for bacteria. The mineral was used during mummification ceremonies in ancient Egypt because it absorbs water and behaves as a drying agent. It was also an ancient household insecticide, and was used for making leather as well as a bleach for clothing. Natron can be used to dry and preserve fish and meat. The mineral was mixed into early antiseptics for wounds and minor cuts. Undiluted, natron was a cleanser for the teeth and an early mouthwash. It softens water while removing oil and grease. Blended with oil, it was an early form of soap. Historical natron was harvested directly as a salt mixture from dry lake beds in ancient Egypt, and has been used for thousands of years as a cleaning product for both the home and body. In modern mineralogy the term natron has come to mean only the sodium carbonate decahydrate (hydrated soda ash) that makes up most of the historical salt.Ī faience vase fabricated in part from natron, dating to the New Kingdom of Egypt (c. Throughout history natron has had many practical applications that continue today in the wide range of modern uses of its constituent mineral components. Natron deposits are sometimes found in saline lake beds which arose in arid environments. Natron is white to colourless when pure, varying to gray or yellow with impurities. Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate ( Na 2CO 3♱0H 2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO 3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. Natron deposits in the Era Kohor crater in the Tibesti Mountains, ChadĬolourless to white, greyish, yellowish colourless in transmitted light.Ĭrystalline, granular, and columnar crusts