QUALITY TESTING OF SODIUM BICARBONATE

Abstract

Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), also known as baking soda, is widely used in different branches of industry (chemical, food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, etc.), but also in the household. When talking about the use of baking soda in the household, one of the frequent questions is whether it contains aluminium. Therefore, the aim of this work is to examine the quality of commercially available baking soda products. Samples used for analysing the quality of products are different commercial products found in marketplaces and pharmacies in Banja Luka, and one sample obtained directly from the soda ash  factory. In this paper the products were tested for the concentration of NaHCO3, chlorides, ammonium ion and aluminium, in accordance with standard methods. The results show that the mass fraction of NaHCO3 for all tested samples is very high (99.30%–99.99%). The tested concentrations of chloride and ammonium ions also show slight deviations in the tested samples, and the obtained values range from 0.00%–0.05%. The presence of aluminium was found in all tested samples in traces, and the obtained values range from 0.0025%-0.0050%. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that all tested samples of baking soda from the domestic market are of extremely high purity, while impurities are present in very low concentrations.