Sodium+bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate is an antacid used to relieve heartburn and acid indigestion. Your doctor also may prescribe sodium bicarbonate to make your blood or urine less acidic in certain conditions. This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

The formula for Sodium Bicarbonate is NaHCO 3 . Sodium bicarbonate is a reaction of sodium chloride, ammonia, and carbon dioxide in water.
It can be made by the reaction of carbon dioxide with sodium hydroxide. The initial reaction produces sodium bicarbonate as seen here:

CO 2 + 2 NaOH → Na 2 CO 3 + H 2 O

The addition of carbon dioxide produces sodium bicarbonate shown here:

Na 2 CO 3 + CO 2 + H 2 O → 2 NaHCO 3

Sodium bicarbonate reacts with hydrochloric acid producing carbon dioxide, sodium chloride and, water.
Sodium bicarbonate reacts with sodium hydroxide producing sodium carbonate and water. Sodium bicarbonate can degrade into carbon dioxide, sodium carbonate, and water in a temperature higher than 50℃. There are two categories of reaction between sodium bicarbonate and calcium hydroxide: Less sodium bicarbonate: NaHCO₃+ Ca(OH)₂==== CaCO₃+ NaOH + H₂O Enough sodium bicarbonate: 2NaHCO₃+ Ca(OH)₂==== CaCO₃+ Na2CO₃+ 2H₂O

It is a white solid but it appears as a fine powder. It has a slightly salty taste and may be found in baking soda, cooking soda, and bread soda among others.


Fun Fact! When sodium bicarbonate is combined with citric acid (vitamin C) and distilled water, there is a chemical reaction that creates a large bang. This can be seen when you buy Wack a packs. When punching the small bag, it causes all these chemicals to react and inflate the bag and balloon inside and causes the bag to explode. Interesting science! wack a pack video

Cooking
Sodium bicarbonate, referred to as "baking soda" is primarily used in cooking (baking), as a leavening agent. It reacts with acidic components in batters, releasing carbon dioxide, which causes expansion of the batter and forms the characteristic texture and grain in pancakes, cakes, quick breads, and other baked and fried foods. Acidic compounds that induce this reaction include phosphates, cream of tartar , lemon juice, yogurt, buttermilk, cocoa, vinegar, etc. Sodium bicarbonate can be substituted for baking powder provided sufficient acid reagent is also added to the recipe. Many forms of baking powder contain sodium bicarbonate combined with one or more acidic phosphates or cream of tartar. Sodium bicarbonate was sometimes used in cooking vegetables, to make them softer, although this has gone out of fashion, as most people now prefer firmer vegetables that contain more nutrients. However, it is still used in Asian cuisine to tenderise meats. Baking soda may react with acids in food, including Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid). It is also used in breadings such as for fried foods to enhance crispness. Thermal decomposition causes sodium bicarbonate alone to act as a raising agent by releasing carbon dioxide at baking temperatures. The carbon dioxide production starts at temperatures above 80 °C. The mixture for cakes using this method can be allowed to stand before baking without any premature release of carbon dioxide.