Ammonium bicarbonate
Ammonium bicarbonate is a mineral compound and is actually a white, water-soluble substance that is often available in powder and crystal form.
Properties of this material include disinfection, stabilization and acidity regulation of materials. Formerly known as ammonia bicarbonate and deer antler, it was traditionally obtained from baked ammonia by processing deer antler and used instead of baking powder.
But you need to know the main difference between ammonium bicarbonate and baking powder and baking soda:
Ammonium bicarbonate does not react at room temperature, so pastes that made with ammonium bicarbonate have a longer shelf life. The color of ammonium bicarbonate is browner than baking powder, which creates a brittle structure.
Ammonium bicarbonate reacts rapidly when exposed to water or heat, causing the material to paste. In the production of products such as ammonium bicarbonate, that have a humidity above 3%, there is usually a slight odor of ammonia, but in baking powder, there is no trace of unpleasant odor.
In general, except the last one, there is no disadvantage in the superiority of ammonium bicarbonate over baking powder. It is necessary to know that if food is cooked at a temperature above 60 degrees Celsius, the acidic odor emitted by ammonium bicarbonate will be completely removed from the food.
But at the same time, the benefits of this substance in the confectionery industry can not be ignored. for example :
Ammonium bicarbonate is one of the causes of browning of cakes and cookies. The main reason for the formation of biscuit and crumbly texture in crackers and biscuits and pastries is ammonium bicarbonate.
The use of ammonium bicarbonate facilitates work with bread and pastry doughs, and the main factor in making dough with gas loss (CO2) is ammonium bicarbonate. If we produce a product with high temperature, the use of ammonium bicarbonate as a yeast will certainly be the best option. (But it should be noted that for products with low temperatures, it is better to use baking powder.)
Uses of ammonium bicarbonate
Dry ammonia or ammonium bicarbonate is generally used in many industries, food, beverage, pharmaceutical, health, and skin care products, agriculture, and livestock and poultry feed.
In addition, ammonium bicarbonate is used in the composition of fire extinguishers, in the preparation of soil reinforcers, ammonium salts and pipe sediment cleaners.
It’s also used in the production of sponge rubber, ceramics industry, preparation of plant fertilizers, plastics and rubber industries, leather tanning and in the synthesis of some catalysts.
How to produce ammonium bicarbonate in the laboratory?
First, pump ammonia solution into a reactor and then direct carbon dioxide gas into it,by controlling this reaction, we reach the most important step, which is crystallization. It is important to know that the reaction to form ammonium bicarbonate is a heat reaction that must be performed in a laboratory and under the supervision of a chemist.
To reach the crystal in this reaction we must reduce the amount of heat generated by the previous step; As a result, during this step, we cool down and control the temperature so that the obtained crystals appear in the desired sizes.
In the final stage, after the completion of the reaction and the formation of crystalline crystals, the contents of the reactor are emptied and the resulting crystals are dewatered by centrifugation. As a point, you should know that if needed, ammonium bicarbonate crystals are dried in a dryer to be powdered for use in the market.
Finally, the use of ammonium bicarbonate is one of the best and most cost-effective choices for the bread and pastry industry.
