What is the difference between baking soda and soda ash?
Baking soda is a multitasking, economical and natural product that has a thousand and one uses.
But do you know soda ash?
Soda ash, also called sodium carbonate, is none other than soda crystals.
Like bicarbonate, it is also a natural white powder with alkaline properties. But the similarities end there .
Here are the differences between soda ash and baking soda:
A little chemistry will help us visualize and better understand the difference between the two products.
Here is the formula of carbonate (soda crystals) and that of bicarbonate:
- Sodium carbonate formula:Na2 CO3
- Sodium bicarbonate formula:NaHCO3
The 2 formulas are not identical, therefore the two products are very different.
On the other hand, it is quite possible to obtain baking soda from sodium carbonate.
How? 'Or' What ? Just turn sodium carbonate into sodium bicarbonate.
To do this, we must add a molecule of water and a molecule of carbon dioxide:
A molecule of sodium carbonate (Na2 CO3 ) + one water molecule (H2 0) + one molecule of carbon dioxide (i.e. carbon dioxide CO2 ).
As a result, we obtain a molecule of baking soda:NaHCO3 .
Bicarbonate is super effective for cleaning the whole house, very useful in the garden, for getting a little beauty, for cooking or even improving your health.
Unlike baking soda, soda crystals (or sodium carbonate) are not food.
They should therefore not be swallowed and should be used with caution.
The use of gloves is recommended when handling soda crystals. Indeed, they are much more corrosive than bicarbonate.
Soda crystals are a very powerful cleaner and degreaser.
He's a bit of the Mr. Muscle of the household, especially for unclogging pipes or cleaning toilets!
Bicarbonate of soda and sodium carbonate are therefore very different, but are also complementary for the complete maintenance of the house.
