It’s a soda, but you’ve never seen it on the soda isle. It’s a salt, but you’ll never see it next to pepper. It’s the multifaceted Sodium bicarbonate or Baking Soda, as it’s more commonly known. Occurring both naturally and man-made it was first attributed to the ancient Egyptians who discovered the compound for use as a cleaning agent. It wasn’t until 1791 when French scientist Nicolas Leblanc developed the first chemical method of making Sodium bicarbonate. Commercially mined from nahcolite deposits around the world it can be created from what is known as the Solvay process where calcium carbonate, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and sodium chloride are combined. Sodium bicarbonate is extracted from the naholite using warm water. The end result of both processes is the white powder that permeates many areas of daily human life.
A practical substance
Sodium bicarbonate finds use in baking. When heated it generates carbon dioxide, a function that makes dough rise. Where the compound shows its flexibility is in the medicinal and hygiene arena. It can be added to toothpastes, deodorant, and shampoos. The very same release of carbon dioxide under increased temperatures makes it an excellent cleaning agent on surfaces that may be affected by other chemicals. Mixed with warm water Sodium bicarbonate can do a number of cleaning tasks like untarnishing silver, remove odors from clothes, and lift coffee and tea stains. The Arm & Hammer box, the most popular brand of commercial baking soda, sitting the refrigerator, or in the back of the closet to control odor, is an iconic image for the older generation and a testament to its many uses and longevity.
Neutral in behavior
The gentle nature of Sodium bicarbonate allows a myriad of medical applications primarily for counteracting acids. Those older may recognize its non-medical term, bicarb, a basic antacid. It still can be taken orally when diluted, but it’s a prime ingredient in both liquid and tablet antacids. Elsewhere in the body gout and kidney stones can be prevented by Sodium bicarbonate. In more serious circumstances it can be used to treat overdoses, and some medical conditions where low blood pH levels become life threatening. It should be noted that excess sodium in the body could have adverse effects on health. On the outside it can cleanse wounds, solve skin irritants, and be a scrub to remove dead skin cells without harm. And in case of a fire, many dry chemical extinguishers use Sodium bicarbonate instead of ammonium phosphate, a more corrosive chemical.
Little known uses
Its versatility leaves an impressive resume of applications outside the popular uses. Sodablasting, a paint cleaning process, uses Sodium bicarbonate. It can be used in pools, and ponds to maintain the pH balance of the water. When mixed with sugar it performs similarly to boric acid, where it’s particularly deadly to cockroaches. Just like in humans that take it for indigestion Sodium bicarbonate is sometimes combined with cattle feed to regulate the acid levels within livestock for better food intake.