Take the salt, heat it, run current through it. Sodium vapor comes out.
Not exactly "easy", but self-contained. From an environmental point of view sodium is absolutely brilliant compared to lithium. Everyone with access to sea water can produce almost 400 g of sodium from 1kg of common table salt. No lithium mining needed.
Mostly because mining trona (actually Na3H(CO3)2*2H2O) is cheaper than the Solvay process. It's not a matter of possibility, it's just the path of least resistance.
Not exactly "easy", but self-contained. From an environmental point of view sodium is absolutely brilliant compared to lithium. Everyone with access to sea water can produce almost 400 g of sodium from 1kg of common table salt. No lithium mining needed.
More info: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downs_cell