Barilla

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See also: Salsola soda, Salsola kali, and Soda ash

Barilla refers to several species of salt-tolerant ("halophyte") plants that, until the 19^th Century, were the primary source of soda ash and hence (we now know) of sodium carbonate. The word "barilla" was also used directly to refer to the soda ash that was prepared from the plants.^[1] The word is an anglicization of the Spanish word barrilla for "saltwort" plants (a particular category of halophytes). In the 18^th Century, Spain's barilla industry exported large quantities of soda ash of exceptional purity; the product was refined from the ashes of barilla plants that were specifically cultivated for this purpose. Presumably the word "barilla" entered English and other languages as a consequence of this export trade. The main barilla species included (i) Salsola soda (the common English term barilla plant for Salsola soda reflects this usage), (ii) Salsola kali, and (iii) Halogeton sativus (formerly Salsola sativa).^[2][3] Fairly recently, Pérez^[3] has concluded that the most prominent species was likely Halogeton sativus; earlier authors have tended to favor Salsola soda.

The word "barilla" was also used directly to refer to the soda ash obtained from these plants, and indeed from completely different sources such as seaweed. These types of plant-derived soda ash are impure alkali substances that contain widely varying amounts of sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃), some additional potassium carbonate (also an alkali), and a predominance of non-alkali impurities.^[4] The sodium carbonate, which is water soluble, is "lixiviated" (extracted with water) from the ashes of the burned, dried plants. The resulting solution is boiled dry to obtain the finished barilla. A very similar process is used to obtain potash (mainly potassium carbonate) from the ashes of hardwood trees. The best Spanish barilla - prepared by master barrilleros - contained about 30% Na₂CO₃.

Some authors indicate that "barilla" was a specific plant used for soda ash production; this usage is erroneous, but presumably corresponds to the common usage of "barilla plant" exclusively for Salsola soda. Perhaps this common usage itself reflects an old error in assuming that a single plant species was used by the Spaniards for their industry. In still earlier times, the sources of soda ash and the methods of processing it were secrets that were zealously guarded.

Barilla species

Salsola kali ©2004 Pablo Alberto Salguero Quiles.

Salsola soda ©2006 Luigi Rignanese.

Halogeton sativus (formerly Salsola sativa); engraving published 1813 (Adolphus Ypey).

[edit] External links

• Photograph of Halogeton sativus in bloom, from Flores de Almeria website. Retrieved December 3, 2006.
• Caja, Lidia Sala (2003). Causas lingüísticas en el auge del término sosa y el declive de barrilla en los siglos XVIII y XIX, retrieved December 3, 2006. Discussion of changes in the meaning of the Spanish words barrilla and sosa during the 18th and 19th Centuries.

[edit] References

1. ^ Definitions of "barilla" in The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1989). Definitions retrieved from the online edition on December 3, 2006.
2. ^ "Barilla," definition in The American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition, (2000). Definition retrieved from the online edition on November 16, 2006.
3. ^ ^{a b} Pérez, Joaquín Fernández (1998). "From the barrilla to the Solvay factory in Torrelavega: The Manufacture of Saltwort in Spain," Antilia: The Spanish Journal of History of Natural Sciences and Technology, Vol. IV, Art. 1. ISSN: 1136-2049. Retrieved Oct. 21, 2006.
4. ^ Clow, Archibald and Clow, Nan L. (1952). Chemical Revolution, (Ayer Co Pub, June 1952), pp. 65-90. ISBN 0-8369-1909-2.