Ernest Gaston Solvay
Solvay, Ernest Gaston
Born Apr. 16, 1838, in Rebecq-Rognon, Brabant; died May 26,1922, in Brussels. Belgian chemical engineer and industrialist. Corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences (1917).
In 1861, Solvay began work on an ammonia-based method for the industrial production of soda and in 1872 developed a vertical carbonator. This work made possible a continuous production process by the end of the 19th century. The Solvay process was far more economical than the process in use at the time, developed by N. Leblanc.