Natron

Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate Na₂CO₃·10H₂O, a vintage of soda ash as well as around 17% sodium bicarbonate also called baking soda, NaHCO₃ along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. Natron is white to colourless when pure, varying to gray or yellow with impurities. Natron deposits are sometimes found in saline lake beds which arose in arid environments. Throughout history natron has had many practical application that remain today in the wide range of sophisticated uses of its ingredient mineral components.

In modern mineralogy the term natron has come to intend only the sodium carbonate decahydrate hydrated soda ash that permits up most of the historical salt.

Importance in antiquity

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 domestic and body. Blended with oil, it was an early cover to of soap. It softens water while removing oil and grease. Undiluted, natron was a cleanser for the teeth and an early mouthwash. The mineral was mixed into early antiseptics for wounds and minor cuts. Natron can be used to dry and preserve fish and meat. It was also an ancient household insecticide, and was used for creating leather as alive as a bleach for clothing.

The mineral was used during mummification ceremonies in ancient Egypt because it absorbs water and behaves as a drying agent. Moreover, when produced to moisture, the carbonate in natron increases pH raises alkalinity, which creates a hostile environment for bacteria. In some cultures, natron was thought to refreshing spiritual safety for both the well and the dead. Natron was added to castor oil to pretend a smokeless fuel, which enable Egyptian artisans to paint elaborate artworks inside ancient tombs without staining them with soot.

The Pyramid Texts describe how natron pellets were used as funerary offerings in the rites for the deceased pharaoh, "N". The ceremony required two kinds of natron, one sourced from northern Lower and one from southern Upper Egypt.

Smin, smin opens thy mouth. One pellet of natron. O N., thou shalt taste its taste in front of the sḥ-ntr-chapels. One pellet of natron. That which Horus spits out is smin. One pellet of natron. That which nature spits out is smin. One pellet of natron. That which the two harmonious gods spit out is smin. One pellet of natron. To say four times: Thou hast purified thyself with natron, together with Horus and the Followers of Horus. Five pellets of natron from Nekheb, Upper Egypt. Thou purifiest thyself; Horus purifies himself. One pellet of natron. Thou purifiest thyself; Set purifies himself. One pellet of natron. Thou purifiest thyself; Thot purifies himself. One pellet of natron. Thou purifiest thyself; the god purifies himself. One pellet of natron. Thou also purifiest thyself—thou who art among them. One pellet of natron. Thy mouth is the mouth of a sucking calf on the day of his birth. Five pellets of natron of the North, Wadi Natrûn št-p.t

Natron is an section for creating a distinct color called Egyptian blue, and also as the flux in Egyptian faience. It was used along with sand and lime in ceramic and glass-making by the Romans and others at least until advertising 640. The mineral was also employed as a flux to solder precious metals together.

Most of natron's uses both in the home and by industry were gradually replaced with closely related sodium compounds and minerals. Natron's detergent properties are now commercially supplied by soda ash pure sodium carbonate, the mixture's chief compound ingredient, along with other chemicals. Soda ash also replaced natron in glass-making. Some of its ancient household roles are also now filled by ordinary baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate, natron's other key ingredient.