Anhydrous sodium sulfate has a wide range of applications, including the manufacture of water glass, glass, porcelain enamel, pulp, refrigeration mixtures, detergents, desiccants, dye diluents, analytical chemical reagents, and pharmaceuticals.
Anhydrous sodium sulfate is a typical electrostatically bound ionic sulfate. When barium or lead salts are added to form insoluble sulfates, the presence of free sulfate ions in solution can be demonstrated:
Na2SO4 + BaCl2→ 2 NaCl + BaSO4
Sodium sulfate is unreactive to most oxidizing or reducing agents. At high temperatures, it can be converted to sodium sulfide by carbothermal reduction.
