Basic Chemical Raw Materials Workers

How to become a Soda Ash Plant Operator

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 纯碱生产工

Also called: Soda Ash Brine Operator, Distillation and Absorption Operator, Soda Ash Carbonation Operator, Bicarbonate Calcining Operator, Soda Ash Lime Operator, Dense Soda Ash Operator, Combined Soda Salt Washing Operator, Combined Soda Crystallisation Operator

Produces soda ash from salt and carbon dioxide by operating carbonation towers, calciners, crystallisers and other equipment.

Main tasks

Dissolving salt into saturated brine and removing impurities and calcium and magnesium ions
Bubbling ammonia into the purified brine to make ammoniated brine
Controlling gas flow, temperature and liquid level in the carbonation tower to form a sodium bicarbonate slurry
Filtering out the solid sodium bicarbonate and feeding it into the calciner to make soda ash
Burning limestone in lime kilns to obtain quicklime and carbon dioxide and mixing milk of lime
Cooling the ammonium chloride mother liquor and adding salt to crystallise out ammonium chloride
Testing the intermediate products from each stage
Checking and maintaining equipment regularly and spotting and clearing problems and faults quickly
Keeping production records and the related data

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥70,300 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥51,500 to CN¥94,900. One in ten earn less than CN¥41,200 and one in ten more than CN¥123,600.
This is the figure for the mid group Chemical Raw Materials and Products Manufacturing Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥80,682 a year (2025), middle half CN¥55,352 to CN¥102,479.
This is the figure for the mid group Chemical Raw Materials and Products Manufacturing Workers, not for this job alone.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Chemical Raw Materials and Products Manufacturing Workers holds 0.24% of everyone employed in China; 30.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
33.9% are under 35, 57.1% are 35 to 54 and 9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How much does a Soda Ash Plant Operator earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥70,300 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Chemical Raw Materials and Products Manufacturing Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥80,682 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Soda Ash Plant Operator?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026