Give a brief account of the chemicals obtained from common salt.

Common salt is sodium chloride. Its molecular formula is NaCl . We can obtain the following four chemicals from common salt. Sodium hydroxide or lye or caustic soda i.e. NaOH . Baking soda or sodium hydrogen carbonate or sodium bicarbonate i.e. NaHCO 3 . Washing soda or sodium carbonate decahydrate i.e. Na 2 CO 3 . 10 H 2 O . Bleaching powder or calcium hypochlorite i.e. CaOCl 2 . In the Chlor-alkali process, sodium hydroxide is prepared from common salt (sodium chloride). In the Solvay process, limestone (calcium carbonate) ammonia, carbon dioxide and cold saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution produces sodium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate and calcium chloride. Chlorine gas (obtained from Chlor alkali process) reacts with dry slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) to form bleaching powder.