Today, sodium bicarbonate is known to us as drinking or baking soda, which we constantly use in our lives. This is usually a fine crystalline powder of a fine fraction of grinding (sometimes it happens like a crystalline salt). Soda is non-toxic, fire- and explosion-proof, odorless, has a salty-alkaline taste. It is soluble in water, while forming an alkaline solution of various basicities (depending on the mass of soluble soda).
Reacting with acids, sodium bicarbonate forms carbonic acid (it decomposes into water, carbon dioxide) and salts. Soda does not dissolve in alcohol.
This product has several synonyms: bicarbonate soda, sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, sodium bicarbonate and baking soda. In humid air, soda can come in contact with moisture, and carbon dioxide will be released as a result of the reaction. When heated (more than 60 deg.), Sodium bicarbonate decomposes into sodium carbonate, water and carbon dioxide.
According to the degree of impact on the human body, it is considered non-toxic, but it causes irritation when it enters the mucous membrane. Constant presence in an atmosphere contaminated with soda dust can cause irritation in the respiratory organs. Reacting with water, acids and when exposed to temperature, sodium bicarbonate decomposes into a number of components. These properties allowed baking soda to be widely distributed and used in various fields of human activity.
Nowadays, sodium bicarbonate is used in the pharmaceutical and medical industries, chemical and light, food and metallurgical, is widely used in everyday life. This product is indispensable in the food industry, it is used by bakers and confectioners, with the use of soda they make effervescent drinks. The use of sodium bicarbonate reduces the cooking time of meat products.
A good baking powder in baking products is sodium bicarbonate. Its formula is known to almost everyone who has ever sat at a school desk. In cooking, in the preparation of shortcake or biscuit dough, soda is also used as part of other components. This product is widely used in the chemical industry. Here it is used for the production of various types of dyes, fluoride reagents, polystyrene, household chemistry compositions, etc.
Using sodium bicarbonate, a gas mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide is separated. An important component is bicarbonate soda in the manufacture of powder fillers for fire extinguishers and fire extinguishing systems. They used an important quality of sodium bicarbonate: when heated, emit carbon dioxide, which isolates the burning area and prevents oxygen from penetrating.
In light industry, this product is used for the manufacture of artificial leather, plantar rubber, tanning of genuine leather and in the decoration of various fabrics. After a discovery made in the 18th century by a German doctor Bulrich, it was found that sodium bicarbonate neutralizes burning in the stomach with high acidity, and soda has found wide practical application in pharmaceuticals and medicine. It is used in the manufacture of medicines and dietary supplements (dietary supplements).
Using sodium bicarbonate, or rather an aqueous solution, it is possible to exert a mild alkaline effect without creating problems for a living organism. Drinking soda is a good antiseptic, it is used to rinse with laryngitis, rhinitis and stomatitis, with conjunctivitis. At home, if there is no medicine to combat heartburn, you can make a solution of soda (a teaspoon in a glass of water) and drink it.
In everyday life, soda is used to remove odors in a laundry basket and a refrigerator; in pools, it helps to reduce water hardness, remove stains and dirt on clothes, furniture and other surfaces. Personal hygiene is the place where soda is also used. With a weak solution of this product, you can rinse your mouth, wipe sweaty areas of the body and refresh yourself on the way. To whiten teeth, you can mix toothpaste with sodium bicarbonate and brush your teeth.
Baking soda has firmly entered the sphere of our life; it has become an indispensable tool in many situations in life.