Sodium Bicarbonate

Sodium Bicarbonate

Written By Eden Peddie

Peddie, E. (Photographer). (2018). Arm and Hammer Baking Soda [Photograph]. Calgary, Canada.

Sodium Bicarbonate, usually known by its more common name Baking Soda, is a very accessible at home chemical.¹ It can also be identified by its other names such as; Soda Ash,² Cooking Soda,² Bread Soda,² Carbonic Acid Monosodium Salt,¹ Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate¹ and Sodium Acid Carbonate.³

It is hypothesized that Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Romans were the first to use Sodium Bicarbonate.^4,5 In these ancient times it was consider that Baking Soda was used for hieroglyphic painting, making pottery, teeth whitening and as a treatment for wounds.⁴ Although its first appearances date far back in time, it wasn't until 1839 that Sodium Bicarbonate was first produced in North America.⁶ By the year 1846, the first Sodium Bicarbonate factory called Vulcan Spice Mills was establish by Austin Church and John Dwight. Church and Dwight named their factory after the roman God of Forge and Fire, Vulcan, who is represented by the symbols of an arm and a hammer.⁶ Today, this is the logo for the most recognizable brand of baking soda, Arm and Hammer.⁶

During the 20^thcentury 53, 000 tons of Sodium Bicarbonate was produced and sold.²  To date, it continues to be produced in mass quantities.⁴ Sodium Bicarbonate can be produced by 3 different processes. The first process in which it cab be made is the LeBlanc Process. This process was invented by Nicolas LeBlanc.³ The LeBlanc process uses Sodium Chloride (table salt), Sulfuric Acid, Limestone and Coal to produce Sodium Bicarbonate but it is not economically friendly and therefore is not used anymore.³ The second process used to make Sodium Bicarbonate is the Solvay Process named after its discoverer Ernest Solvay.³ The Solvay process uses Carbon dioxide, Ammonia and Sodium Chloride.³ However, due to it pollution contributing by-products and high salt content, the Solvay process it not currently in use.³ The cleaner and more economically friendly way of producing Sodium Bicarbonate is through natural deposits.⁴ The mineral Trona is found in the Green River in Wyoming where it is mined, collected and treated to produced pure Sodium Bicarbonate.⁴

Baking Soda is a non-toxic chemical that has many applications from personal and at home uses to industrial uses. These uses include; personal hygiene care (ie. teether whitening, facial cleanser, deodorant), leavening agent in baking, household cleaner, buffering agent, corrosion removal, medical treatment (ie. aspirin overdoes, heartburn, indigestion, acid reflux), and fire extinguishing.² In total, Sodium Bicarbonate is a great multi-purpose chemical that has been around for many years and will also have use in the future. 

References

¹Sodium bicarbonate. National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/sodium_bicarbonate#section=Synonyms(asseccesed November 25, 2018)

²(2018, November 17) Sodium bicarbonate. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate(accessed November 25, 2018)

³Baking Soda. How Products Are Made. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Baking-Soda.html(accessed November 27, 2018)

⁴(2018, January 10) Trona. Wyoming Mining Association. https://www.wyomingmining.org/minerals/trona/(accessed November 28, 2018)

⁵Worldofchemicals. (2017, September 7) Sodium bicarbonate: Discovery, Production, Uses. World of Chemicals a online chemical directory,chemistry portal,aricles,news. Worldofchemicals. https://www.worldofchemicals.com/585/chemistry-articles/sodium-bicarbonate-discovery-production-uses.html (accessed Novemeber 27, 2018)

⁵(2018, January 5) History and Use of Sodium Bicarbonate. Crystal Hills Organics. https://www.crystalhills.com/history-and-use-of-sodium-bicarbonate/ (accessed Novemeber 27, 2018)