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Difference between Sodium Carbonate and Sodium Bicarbonate
May
12
2011
What are the differences between Sodium Carbonate and Sodium Bicarbonate?
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Answer #1
Elements are the basic components that comprise the majority of compounds and substances that exist. While there are a total of 118 natural elements, a number of compounds have been formed and have evidently become part of the basic necessities for human survival along with other living entities. One of the most popular compounds is salt. Salt is made from natural sodium that is combined with other existing elements. These combinations have resulted into having sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. As these two have a common property of being highly reactive in the presence of sodium, these compounds bear disparities making them distinct from one another.
For one, sodium carbonate is created from the mixture of sodium and an acid, mainly comprised of sodium. Sodium bicarbonate, on the other hand, has a seemingly similar set of properties as that of sodium carbonate, only that it has an additional ingredient of hydrogen.
In this light, these two can further be differentiated in the sense that sodium bicarbonate has milder properties compared to sodium carbonate. This is due to the fact that sodium carbonate is categorized as one pure alkaline or basic compound.
In addition to that, sodium carbonate differs from sodium bicarbonate in use. Sodium carbonate is basically used in the manufacturing of glass as well as in neutralizing strong acidic solutions. Sodium bicarbonate, on the contrary, has an important use in cooking and other culinary-related activities, as this is one highly effective agent that permits pastries and other kinds of food to rise and create some fullness.
More so, these two have distinct alternative names to make each one distinguishable from one another. Sodium carbonate is otherwise known as washing ash whereas sodium bicarbonate is famous for its label, which is baking soda.