sodium sulfate
- noun
- /ˈsoʊdiəm ˈsʌlfeɪt/
- Specialized
- In the paper industry, sodium sulfate plays a crucial role in the pulping process.
Examples
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The various salts, such as magnesium chloride, sodium sulfate, and sodium chloride, precipitate at different saturation levels and hence can be separated.
Academic text (1994) -
Pharmaceutical companies often include sodium sulfate in their formulations for its therapeutic properties.
-
Sodium sulfate is commonly used as a drying agent in the manufacture of sodium sulfate glass.
Synonyms
A white chemical in crystal form that people use as a laxative and in industry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term denotes a salt composed of sodium and the sulfate anion, so its meaning is directly derivable from the constituents 'sodium' + 'sulfate' following standard chemical naming patterns. Although full technical properties and uses are specialised, the basic composition is transparent and cross-linguistically recognizable, so a learner who knows both words will understand the MWE's core meaning.
Etymology
The compound sodium sulfate is named for its two parts: the metal sodium and the part sulfate, which comes from the element 'sulfur'. So the name simply tells you it is a white 'salt' used in making glass, paper and detergents.