Ammonium carbonate

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Ammonium carbonate
Ball-and-stick model of two ammonium cations and one carbonate anion
Names
IUPAC name
Ammonium carbonate
Other names
  • baker's ammonia
  • sal volatile
  • salt of hartshorn
  • E503
Identifiers
3D model (
JSmol
)
ChEBI
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard
 100.007.326 Edit this at Wikidata
EC Number
  • 233-786-0
E number E503(i) (acidity regulators, ...)
IUPHAR/BPS
UNII
UN number 3077
  • InChI=1S/CH2O3.2H3N/c2-1(3)4;;/h(H2,2,3,4);2*1H3 checkY
    Key: PRKQVKDSMLBJBJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  • InChI=1/CH2O3.2H3N/c2-1(3)4;;/h(H2,2,3,4);2*1H3
    Key: PRKQVKDSMLBJBJ-UHFFFAOYAQ
  • O=C(O)O.N.N
  • [NH4+].[NH4+].[O-]C(=O)[O-]
Properties
(NH4)2CO3
Molar mass 96.09 g/mol
Appearance White powder
Density 1.50 g/cm3
Melting point 58 °C (136 °F; 331 K) (decomposes)
100 g/100 ml (15°C)[1]
25 g/100 ml (20°C)
-42.50·10−6 cm3/mol
Hazards
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH):
Main hazards
 Irritant
GHS labelling:
GHS07: Exclamation mark
Warning
H302, H319
Safety data sheet (SDS) External MSDS
Related compounds
Other anions
 Ammonium bicarbonate
Ammonium carbamate
Other cations
 Sodium carbonate
Potassium carbonate
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
checkY verify (what is checkY☒N ?)

Ammonium carbonate is a salt with the chemical formula (NH4)2CO3. Since it readily degrades to gaseous ammonia and carbon dioxide upon heating, it is used as a

baking soda and baking powder. It is a component of what was formerly known as sal volatile and salt of hartshorn,[2] and produces a pungent smell when baked. It comes in the form of a white powder or block, with a molar mass of 96.09 g/mol and a density of 1.50 g/cm3. It is a strong electrolyte
.

Production

Ammonium carbonate is produced by combining carbon dioxide and aqueous ammonia. About 80,000 tons/year were produced as of 1997.

[2]

An orthorhombic monohydrate is known. It crystallizes in an ammonia solution exposed in a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere.[3]

Decomposition

Ammonium carbonate slowly decomposes at standard temperature and pressure through two pathways. Thus any initially pure sample of ammonium carbonate will soon become a mixture including various byproducts.

Ammonium carbonate can spontaneously

decompose into ammonium bicarbonate and ammonia
:

Which further decomposes to carbon dioxide, water and another molecule of ammonia:

Uses

Leavening agent

Ammonium carbonate may be used as a

Amerikaner, Speculoos, Tunnbröd or Lebkuchen
). It was the precursor to today's more commonly used baking powder.

Originally made from ground deer horn and called hartshorn, today it is called baker's ammonia. It is prepared by the sublimation of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and calcium carbonate and occurs as a white powder or a hard, white or translucent mass.[4] It acts as a heat activated leavening agent and breaks down into carbon dioxide (leavening), ammonia (which needs to dissipate) and water. It is sometimes combined with sodium bicarbonate to mimic as a double acting baking powder and to help mask any ammonia smell not baked out.

It also serves as an acidity regulator and has the E number E503. It can be replaced with baking powder, but this may affect both the taste and texture of the finished product. Baker's ammonia should be used to create thin dry baked goods like crackers and cookies. This allows the strong ammonia smell to bake out. It should not be used to make moist baked items like cake since ammonia is hydrophilic and will leave a strong bitter taste.

Its use as a leavening agent, with associated controversy, goes back centuries:

In the third kind of

carbonic acid gas.[5]

Other uses

Ammonium carbonate is the main component of

emetic
. It is also found in smokeless tobacco products, such as Skoal, and it is used in aqueous solution as a photographic lens cleaning agent, such as Eastman Kodak's "Kodak Lens Cleaner."

It is also used for luring of apple maggots in Washington State, to monitor the spread of the infestation and adjust the borders of the Apple Maggot Quarantine Area.[6]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-1138561632
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-3527306732
    .
  3. PMID 25449618
    . Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  4. ^ "CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21". www.accessdata.fda.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  5. ^ "Bread". The Engineer's and Mechanic's Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Luke Hebert. 1849. p. 239.
  6. S2CID 31174719
    .
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