subject: Ammonium Bicarbonate [print this page] Introduction Introduction
Ammonium bicarbonate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula (NH4) HCO3, it is bicarbonate salt of ammonia. Though it consists of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, it does not belong to organic compounds family due to its bonding structure. It is also known with the names ammonium hydrogen carbonate, hartshorn/ horn salt, powdered baking ammonia. It is a clear, white crystalline solid with a faint smell of ammonia and easily dissolved in water, while insoluble in alcohol and acetone.
Ammonium bicarbonate is widely used as an important chemical in almost all chemical industries which mostly deals in inorganic compound and it is one of the most highly produced inorganic chemical around the chemical industry. It plays a very important role in chemical sciences and chemistry, as it is a very important oxidizing agent.
Synthesis and Production
Naturally it is produced from decay of animal, vegetable and other nitrogenous organic compounds, though in small quantity it can be found in rainwater and in volcanic areas.
Synthesis & Production At industrial level, ammonium bicarbonate is produced by combining carbon dioxide and ammonia:
CO2 + NH3 + H2O "' (NH4) HCO3
Since it is thermal unstable, it needs to be maintained at low temperature. Ammonium bicarbonate decomposes above 36 C into ammonia, carbon dioxide and water via an endothermic reaction as follows:
NH4HCO3 "' NH3 + H2O + CO2
Applications
It is used as a raising agent for baked goods in food industry. Earlier, it was commonly used in homes for making cookies and biscuits. But nowadays, it is substituted by baking powder. Ammonium Bicarbonate food grade is an important ingredient for various cookies and biscuits in food industry. Cookies baked with (NH4)HCO3 doesn't leave any flavour affecting residues in comparison to baking soda or potash and thus tastes good whereas for flavour castor oil is used as a flavouring agent. However, it cannot be used for moist bulky baked goods such as normal bread or cake. Being a source of ammonia it is commonly used as a basic fertilizer in agriculture. But due to its low quality and stability, it is replaced by urea. During chemical purification it is used for buffering solutions to alkaline pH.
Zinc Oxide used in ceramics and cosmetic industry is also produced by the reaction of ammonium bicarbonate with zinc sulphate.Moreover, ammonium bicarbonate reaction with alkali metal halides gives alkali metal bicarbonate and ammonium halide which are widely used in fertilizer and pharmaceutical industry. It is also used in the production of fire-extinguishing compounds, dyes, pigments, plastic and rubber industry, and leather tanning.
