The Solvay Process: Rediscovery or Reinvention?

The Modern Solvay Process

Ernest Solvay, a Belgian chemist without formal education, developed a revolutionary process in 1861. It replaced the environmentally damaging Leblanc process and is still used worldwide today.

The Basic Chemical Reaction

The process uses an elegant chain of reactions:

NaCl + NH3 + CO2 + H2O -> NaHCO3 + NH4Cl

Step 1: Saturate brine with ammonia
Step 2: Introduce CO2
Step 3: Sodium bicarbonate precipitates
Step 4: Heat to sodium carbonate (soda)

Why Is Soda Important?

The Egyptians called this substance "Natron" - and it was indispensable for their civilization.

The Coursol Hypothesis

The Sabu Disc as a Reaction Component

The French researcher Coursol analyzed the unusual shape of the Sabu Disc and came to a surprising conclusion: The concave geometry with its three inward-curved "wings" is ideal for a chemical reactor.

His thesis: The disc functioned as a "counter-current dome-shaped plate" - a plate that optimally mixes gases and liquids in a reaction chamber.

Why This Shape Would Work

In modern Solvay plants, so-called "bubble-cap trays" are standard. They:

1. Maximize contact surface between gas (CO2) and liquid (brine)
2. Create turbulence for better mixing
3. Distribute ammonia evenly through the reaction zone

The three "wings" of the Sabu Disc could, when rotating in a liquid, create a vortex - exactly what is needed for optimal gas-liquid reactions.

The Material Question

Why Quartz-Mica-Schist?

An often overlooked detail: The Sabu Disc is made of a material that would be ideal for chemical reactors.

The uncomfortable question: Why would someone choose the only natural material that combines all four properties - for a "ritual object"?

Comparison with Other Materials

The Ammonia Connection

The Problem of Ammonia Source

The Solvay Process requires ammonia. In antiquity, there was no industrial ammonia production - or was there?

Geoffrey Drumm's thesis: The Red Pyramid of Dahshur was an ammonia factory. The pungent ammonia smell still documented in the innermost chamber today is no coincidence.

The Production Chain

If Drumm is correct, a logical system emerges:

Step Pyramid (Saqqara)
    -> Methane from organic matter
         |
Red Pyramid (Dahshur)
    -> Ammonia from nitrogen + hydrogen
         |
Bent Pyramid (Dahshur)
    -> Ammonium bicarbonate fertilizer
         |
Great Pyramid (Giza)
    -> Sulfuric acid and other products

The Sabu Disc could have served in this system as a reactor component - a part that could be transported between different facilities.

Critical Analysis

What Speaks Against the Theory

1. Pressure Problem The modern Solvay Process works at atmospheric pressure. But ammonia synthesis (Haber-Bosch) requires 150-250 bar. Limestone would shatter at such pressures.

2. Temperature Problem Modern ammonia synthesis requires 400-500 degrees C. There are no indications of high-temperature processes in the pyramids (no vitrification, no slag).

3. Catalyst Problem The Haber-Bosch process requires iron-based catalysts. No corresponding artifacts have been found.

4. No Peer Review Neither Coursol's nor Drumm's theses have been published in scientific journals.

What Speaks For the Theory

1. The Etymology The word "chemistry" demonstrably comes from "Kemet" (Egypt). Why would a civilization name their land after material transformation?

2. The Salt Crusts Salt crusts have been documented in the Queen's Chamber that could indicate chemical processes.

3. The Choice of Material Making the Sabu Disc from chemically resistant material only makes sense if it came into contact with chemicals.

4. No Prototypes The absence of failed attempts suggests the disc was made according to a template - possibly a metal object.

Open Questions

What We Don't Know

1. Were there alternative ammonia processes? Theoretically, biological nitrogen fixation (by bacteria) could have played a role. But on an industrial scale?

2. Was the Sabu Disc ever chemically analyzed? There are no published analyses of residues on its surface.

3. Do similar artifacts exist? So far, the Sabu Disc is unique. A network of chemical factories would require multiple such components.

4. Where are the waste products? Every chemical process produces byproducts. Where are they?

Research Desiderata

• Chemical surface analysis of the Sabu Disc
• Independent laboratory analysis of salt crusts in pyramid chambers
• Search for similar artifacts in other museums
• Experimental reconstruction of the hypothetical reactors

The Deeper Question

The Solvay Process is considered a milestone of the Industrial Revolution. Ernest Solvay received numerous awards for it and became immensely wealthy.

But what if he was not the first?

The alchemists of the Middle Ages - many of them obsessed with Egyptian texts - sought the "Great Work." They believed the Egyptians possessed secrets of material transformation.

Isaac Newton spent more time on alchemy than on physics. Robert Boyle, the founder of modern chemistry, was a convinced alchemist. They all sensed: There was something.

The question is not whether the Egyptians practiced chemistry. The question is: How much have we forgotten?

Related Chapters

• Chapter 1: The Land of Chemistry - The complete chemistry thesis
• Chapter 2: The Frequency - The Sabu Disc as frequency generator
• Deep Dive: Piezoelectricity - Why quartz is so important