Baking soda is useful in our daily lives, but it also exists in nature and plays a necessary role. Baking soda is a substance called sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), but it is also called sodium bicarbonate (soda), and is simply called baking soda for short. It is made from a combination of salt + water + ammonia + carbon dioxide, so it seems to be a relatively familiar substance.
Baking soda in nature
Baking soda is the main component of a mineral called natron, which is often found near dry lakes or salt lakes. When water evaporates, carbon dioxide dissolves in the lake water, which becomes concentrated in sodium, and when this dissolves further it crystallizes, forming evaporite, which contains baking soda. It also seems that baking soda is dissolved in some groundwater and hot spring water, and there are many hot springs known as bicarbonate springs or baking soda springs. It is also said that baking soda is found in the blood and digestive fluids of living organisms.
The buffering effect of baking soda
Baking soda seems to have a buffering effect that neutralizes both acidity and alkalinity, and it seems to work to neutralize and stabilize environments that are too acidic or alkaline. When baking soda dissolves in water, it becomes bicarbonate ions (HCO₃⁻), and in the case of acidity, it becomes [H⁺ (acid) + HCO₃⁻ → carbonic acid → water and carbon dioxide], and in the case of alkalinity, it becomes [OH⁻ (strong alkali) + HCO₃⁻ → water and carbonate ions (weak alkali)], which seems to bring it closer to neutral. It’s amazing how versatile it is that it’s effective against both acidity and alkalinity.
The role of maintaining a constant pH
pH is an index that indicates the degree of acidity or alkalinity, and each ecology and living organism in a given environment has a pH that is suitable for its activity. In rivers, lakes, and soil, the pH changes when rain mixes in or when carbon dioxide dissolves, while in living organisms, the pH changes due to respiration and metabolism.
While these are constantly changing, it is important that the water in rivers and lakes be kept at a pH of 6.5 to 8.5, which is favorable for aquatic organisms, the soil at a pH of 6.0 to 7.5, which is favorable for plant growth, and the blood of living organisms at a pH of 7.35 to 7.45. The sodium bicarbonate contained in water and living organisms buffers the pH of these water, soil, and living organisms, keeping them constant.
Baking soda is amazing
It seems to have the benefits of being a hot spring, but it also has a buffering effect that keeps the pH constant. It’s amazing how ecosystems and living organisms have a force that tries to return to a certain range after fluctuations or disturbances occur. It’s amazing that it can continue to hover in the fluid, but I also think it’s amazing how it can keep the constantly changing pH within a certain range.
Even though the environment is constantly changing and there are interactions between the two, and the substances in our bodies are constantly being replaced, the fact that they remain constant to a certain extent may be a strange and mysterious phenomenon. Baking soda is amazing. The buffering effect that exists on Earth is amazing.
