Sodium Bicarbonate + Acid = CO2?

Ajordan

Ajordan

Se?or Member - Get it?
Nov 21, 2006
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Massachusetts
Has anyone ever considered (or tried) to us sodium bicarbonate to generate CO2. I'm no chemistry expert at all but with a little googling I found this site which summarizes with a handy little animation what I had wanted to know:

http://www.infoplease.com/chemistry/simlab/carbonatept1.html

it looks like if you mix the NaHCO3 with Nitric, Sulfuric or Hydrochloric acid you end up with CO2 + H20... The acids involved probably put this into the category of "not for the amateur" but the concept intrigued me.

Any thoughts? Chemistry experts out there care to chime in?

(I'm not even remotely considering this by the way but it seems like a separate reaction reaction chamber thingy could be, at least, feasible)
 
CO2 and H2O are not the only products- you also end up with a salt. That can be an issue.

In the good old days carbonated water for soda fountains was produced using sulfuric acid and marble dust. They'd just sweep up the dust from building sites. Mmm!
 
The answer is yes, you can do that, it is a chemical reaction. First, the concentrations have to be high enough(not high, but high enough) so that you would never put all that into your tank. As mentioned, the byproducst are also things you do not want in your tank.

So, you'd have to do it outside your tank, like DIY CO2. First problem is that it happens quickly, so it's really not sustainable unless you captured the co2,which to be anywhere near useful would have to be put into a pressurized sytem. The problem there is to capture it, compress it, and then release back into your aquarium but be SO much more expensive than a pressurized setup and co2 cylinder swap. Additionally, the chemicals involved are relatively cost prohibitive. In order to even come close to making it work sustainably, you'd have to continuously replinish the solution...I mean, constantly, not daily, not hourly, I mean constantly pump in more Bicarb and Acid. Relative DIY CO2 that requires so much more time and money...and like I said, by the time you put together that setup, a pressurized system is a lot cheaper...and again, easier. The other issue is that's an exothermic reaction, it's going to get hot, really hot. If you add too much too quickly...BOOM.



So, yes, NaCO3 + Acid ---> CO2 + Salt.....but not useable for aquariums. Not at all competetive against DIY or Pressurized.
 
Haven't you ever poured vinegar onto a pile of baking soda? Thats the reaction.
 
Interesting stuff. I've poured vinegar on baking soda plenty of times, used to make little submarines, just never thought of it that way.

Like I said, it's so far from practical that I wasn't even considering a build but every now and then when you get a conversation like this going someone has an "ah-ha!" moment and something new/interesting comes up. I was half expecting someone to say they had tried it!
 
This sparked my memory about the guy who fills black garbage bags with his breath when he's on the tread mill and pumps the "breath" into his tank for the CO2 and wonder if it was an April fools joke. I don't think YOU are joking... it just made me think.

Q
 
So, the garbage thing is true. While must more costly, you could combine this with the garbage bag thing, and you'd end up with a much better source gas. Fill the garbage bag up with this co2 and then you could put in an adjustable air pump on a much lower flow rate. You'd have close to pure co2 in the garbage bag.

Again, this is more time, effort, and money than DIY or pressurized ever would be, so anyone that thinks this is an efficient source of CO2 is complete wrong, but, as far as conjecture is concerned, it is thought-provoking.
 
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