Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3)
is a white crystalline powder known to chemists as bicarbonate of soda, sodium
acid carbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate. Generic name of sodium bicarbonate is Backing Soda.
It is a salt made up of the cation sodium (Na+) and the anion bicarbonate (HCO3). While it is a crystalline white solid, sodium bicarbonate often appears in the form of a fine powder. It tastes alkaline and somewhat salty, similar to that of washing soda (sodium carbonate). Nahcolite is a kind of natural mineral form. It may be found dispersed in a lot of mineral springs and is a part of the mineral natron.
Bicarbonate's prefix bi derives from an antiquated nomenclature that predates molecular understanding. It is based on the finding that sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) contains twice as much carbonate (CO3-2) per sodium as does sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). The specific chemical compositions of these compounds, which were unknown when the name "bi-carbonate of potash" was first created, are now expressed in the contemporary chemical formulae for these compounds.
The substance sodium bicarbonate is an amphoteric one. Due to the production of carbonic acid and the hydroxide ion, aqueous solutions have a moderate alkaline pH.
Production
Industrial processes use sodium
carbonate to make sodium bicarbonate.
Na2CO3 + CO2
+ H2O → 2NaHCO3
In a manner similar to that
described above, soda ash, which is mined as the mineral trona, is dissolved in
water and subjected to carbon dioxide treatment. From this solution, sodium
bicarbonate crystallises as a solid.
Sodium bicarbonate is an
intermediate in the reaction of sodium chloride, ammonia, and carbon dioxide in
the Solvay process. Nonetheless, the product exhibits poor purity.
NaCl + CO2 + NH3
+ H2O → NaHCO3 + NH4C
Although of no practical value,
NaHCO3 may be obtained by the reaction of carbon dioxide with an aqueous
solution of sodium hydroxide.
CO2 + NaOH → NaHCO3
Application
Many applications include the use
of sodium bicarbonate. It is used in a variety of industries, including those
that produce food, animal feed, baking powder, fire extinguishers, sports
supplements, agriculture, medicine, personal hygiene, odour control, hydrogen
gas production, flue gas treatment, textile and leather industries, drilling,
pest control, dyes, water treatment, plastic moulding, metallurgy, electronics,
uranium mining, biogas, and more. It is also used as a cleaning agent, a mild
disinfectant, to neutralise acids, and for pyrotechnics.
According to one survey, the
following use percentages were found:
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