Baking soda

The bicarbonate of soda is a white powder that goes by several names: sodium bicarbonate, monosodium carbonate, Salt Vichy, sodium hydrogen carbonate, or sodium hydrogen carbonate.

There are 3 types of baking soda: technical, food or medicinal.
They differ in their degree of purity.
 

Where is it found?

1 – Mineral deposits - natural origin -: in this form, few processes are needed to obtain a final marketable product. Extracted from the very rare mineral trona, it is a natural combination of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and water. From the factory, natural soda ash is almost 40% cheaper than synthetic.

2 - Soda ash – a synthetic derived from the industrial manufacturing process - (main source in the world): efficient and well controlled, this process requires many production steps. It can generate a a lot of by-products and can be an energy intensive process. The energy required for production also represents 30% to 40% of its production cost.

Baking soda is used in various industries such as:

• Food: the product must be labeled "food grade" to be sure that it does not contain traces of pollutants or aluminum.
   
• Pharmaceutical: the product must bear the words "pharmaceutical quality".
  In medicine, it is used as an intravenous infusion solution, or as an oral powder, and its use is strictly medical.
   
• Home Products: baking soda can replace many household cleaning products. The “technical bicarbonate of soda” quality is reserved for maintenance uses in the house, garage or garden.

The global production of baking soda is 53,600,000 tonnes per year.

It is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air) which causes agglomerates to form if the product is stored in damp rooms.

Examples of industries that deal with baking soda:
- Glass manufacturing industry
- Ceramic manufacturing process where it is used as a de-flocculant to ensure the fluidity of powder solutions
- Building sector: mixed for hemp-based insulation as a flame retardant.
- Flue gas treatment: sodium bicarbonate is an alkaline reagent used for the treatment of incineration fumes.

Palamatic has been supporting manufacturers handling baking soda in their process since 1992.
Numerous facilities handling baking soda have been set up with our customers, here are a few examples:

• Automated  ingredient handling and transport system  in the new extension of a factory specially designed for the preparation, mixing and filling of dry mixes intended for retail sale. This feed additive dosing line allows all equipment to be cleaned in place.
   
• High-tech cleaning disinfectant production line intended for the maintenance of agricultural buildings with particle size reduction of detergent.
   
• Sodium bicarbonate is an alkaline reagent used for the treatment of incineration fumes. The advantages of this absorbent lie in its high reactivity and low residue production.
  This line concerns the installation of an industrial crusher on a fume purification line.

• Emptying and transfer line for the deconditioning of raw materials (sodium bicarbonate for pharmaceutical application) from bulk bags of baking soda.

Our powder experts are available to analyze your powder and test it on a large scale in our test station with our industrial equipment. Contact us!