The difference between sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate, life is not afraid to use the wrong, production use to be careful

A friend recently started to get into the food sector and decided to make a career out of it. I was a bit surprised to hear this news. "Don't you just like to eat and are too lazy to cook? How can takeaway make you happy?" He said he should still do it. He wanted to eat and cook for himself, to be healthy and hygienic. By the look on his face, I thought something was wrong with him. "What's wrong with you?" He smiled and asked me what the difference was between soda and baking soda.

Soda and baking soda are really two things that a lot of people can't figure out. Let me introduce them properly next.

Soda, chemically known as sodium carbonate, has the chemical formula Na2CO3. there are many aliases. Besides soda, there are also soda ash, lye, lye powder, lime, oral soda, soda crystals, soda with water, washed soda, sodium washed soda, soda crystals, crystal soda. Usually white powder or fine crystals, odourless, highly absorbent, easily forms hard lumps. It decomposes at high temperatures, is easily soluble in water and the aqueous solution is alkaline.

Although soda ash is also called soda ash or alkali, it is a salt, not a base. It has this name because when soda is dissolved in water, the aqueous solution is alkaline. Long before soda ash was synthesised, our working people had already discovered the existence of this substance and used it in their daily lives. That is why the name has been used to this day.

Sodium carbonate is widely used in the chemical, pharmaceutical, metallurgical, ceramic, rubber, mechanical, printing and dyeing industries. It is a chemical raw material that is not available to us. In everyday life, sodium carbonate can be found in the kitchen, usually used to wash grease stains and added when making buns and steamed buns.

Baking soda, chemically known as sodium bicarbonate, has the chemical formula NaHCO3. It does not have as many aliases as soda, except for baking soda, only sodium bicarbonate and acidic sodium carbonate. It is usually a white crystalline powder, odourless and soluble in water. It decomposes slowly in humid air or hot air to produce carbon dioxide. It is easily decomposed when heated to 270°C. The decomposition products are sodium carbonate, water and carbon dioxide.

Sodium bicarbonate is also widely used, in much the same way as sodium carbonate, but not as much as sodium carbonate. It is the most widely used expansion agent in food processing and is used in the production of biscuits, bread, etc. It is the producer of carbon dioxide in soft drinks. It can be compounded with alum to form an alkaline baking powder or with soda ash to form a civil soda; it can also be used as a butter preservative.

So what is the difference between sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate? Firstly, as can be seen from their chemical formulae, sodium carbonate is heavier. There is more sodium bicarbonate than sodium carbonate for the same weight. From their appearance, sodium carbonate is mainly a white powder, bright white, while sodium bicarbonate is mainly white crystals, dark white. Sodium bicarbonate is unstable, so it decomposes in air, but only absorbs water and clumps. In the same weight of aqueous solution, sodium carbonate is more alkaline, whereas sodium bicarbonate is only weakly alkaline. This is well understood because sodium bicarbonate hydrolyses to produce sodium carbonate.

In fact, sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate still feel similar, but it is only in their use that a distinction is made. Especially for industrial use, there is still a big difference. In fact, it is not a serious household problem and is rarely used. And the edible soda that people buy now is a mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate.

Personally, I think it's a summary of the main points :

1. soda, the chemical name is sodium carbonate, the chemical formula is Na2CO3. usually white powder or fine crystals, odorless, absorbent, easy to form hard lumps. It decomposes at high temperatures, is easily soluble in water and the aqueous solution is alkaline.

2. Baking soda, chemically known as sodium bicarbonate, the chemical formula is NaHCO3. It is usually a white crystalline powder, odourless and soluble in water. It decomposes slowly in moist air or hot air to produce carbon dioxide. It decomposes easily when heated to 270°C. The products of decomposition are sodium carbonate, water and carbon dioxide.

3. The difference between sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Firstly, their chemical formulas show that sodium carbonate is heavier. For the same weight, sodium bicarbonate is more than sodium carbonate. From their appearance, sodium carbonate is mainly a white powder, bright white, while sodium bicarbonate is mainly white crystals, dark white. Sodium bicarbonate is unstable, so it decomposes in air, but only absorbs water and clumps. In the same weight of aqueous solution, sodium carbonate is more alkaline, while sodium bicarbonate is only weakly alkaline.