Clearing Up Questions about Soda Ash, Make-Up Water
On the jobsite, we use soda ash to pretreat water, raising pH to 8.5 to 9.5 — just over neutral into alkaline — before mixing bentonite or polymer. Soda ash also precipitates calcium, which is part of what gives water its hardness. Softer is good. Calcium levels above 120 ppm and salt/sodium levels 1,000 ppm hamper both bentonite and ...