Chemist and physician, born in Issoudun, C France. He trained as a physician, and became surgeon to the future Duke of Orléans in 1780. He devised a cheap, simple process for making sodium carbonate, essential in making glass, soap, and other chemicals. In 1791 he was granted a patent for his invention, and built a factory for its production. However, his factory was confiscated by the Revolutionary leaders in 1793 (it had been financed by the Duke), and although it was returned to him in 1802 by Napoleon, he had no money to continue, and committed suicide. His process continued to be used on a large scale for a century.
| Nicolas Leblanc | |
|---|---|
| French chemist & physician | |
| Born |
December 6, 1742 Ivoy-le-Pré, France |
| Died |
January 16, 1806 Paris, France |
Nicolas Leblanc (December 6, 1742 – January 16, 1806) was a French chemist and surgeon who discovered how to manufacture soda from common salt.
Earlier days
Leblanc was born in Ivoy-le-Pré, France.
The Leblanc process
In 1775, the French Academy of Sciences offered a prize for a process whereby soda ash could be produced from salt.
By 1791, Nicolas Leblanc had succeeded in producing sodium carbonate from salt by a 2-step process.
The prize was awarded to Nicolas Leblanc for a process which used sea salt and sulfuric acid as the raw materials.
Final days
Two years later the plant was confiscated by the French revolutionary government, which refused to pay him the prize money he had earned ten years earlier.
In 1802 Napoleon returned the plant (but not the prize) to him but by then Leblanc was so broke he could not afford to run it.
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