The Process Of Carbonation And Its Meaning

Carbonation occurs when carbon dioxide is dissolved in water or an aqueous solution. This process yields the "fizz" to carbonated water and sparkling mineral water, the head to beer, and the cork pop and bubbles to champagne and sparkling wine.

The quality of carbonated beverages including soft drinks, seltzer and beer is affected by the amount of dissolved CO2 (the gas that causes carbonation) and the amount of carbonic acid in the drink.

Carbonation can occur as a result of natural processes: when yeast ferments dissolved sugars sealed in a pressure-tolerant bottle or keg; when underground volcanic carbon dioxide carbonates well water; or when rainwater passes through limestone into a cave and forms a stalactite. Also artificially it can be done through dissolving the carbon dioxide under pressure in the fluid. Sometimes natural carbonation is called conditioning while the term carbonation is reserved for the artificial process.

In many consumer beverages such as soft drinks (well known examples include Coca-Cola, 7 Up, Fanta and Pepsi), carbonation is used to give "bite". Contrary to popular belief, the fizzy taste is caused by dilute carbonic acid inducing a slight burning sensation, and is not caused by the presence of bubbles.It can be shown by taking a fizzy drink in a hyperbaric chamber at an equal pressure as the beverage. This gives much the same taste, but the bubbles are completely absent.

Carbonation is sometimes used for reasons other than consumption for example: to lower the pH (raise the hydrogen ion concentration) of a water solution, and in the cleaning industry (Chem-Dry and Carbonated Solutions both use carbonated cleaning solutions for carpet cleaning)

In homebrewing, overcarbonation can be dangerous; it can result in bottles gushing or even exploding. With malt extract or priming sugar at bottling time to beer that gets its fermentable sugar content totally consumed and leads to carbonation safly. Excess of priming sugar from the level prescribed in a given recipe is not good, also using improper capping methods or inappropriate bottles might turn hazardous. Beer may also be force-carbonated using a keg and special bottling equipment so that the carbonation level can be carefully controlled.

Carbonated water, also known as sparkling water, and seltzer, is plain water into which carbon dioxide gas has been dissolved, and is the major and defining component of most "soft drinks". The process of dissolving carbon dioxide gas is called carbonation. It results in the formation of carbonic acid (which has the chemical formula H2CO3).

In the past, soda water, also known as club soda, was produced in the home by "charging" a refillable seltzer bottleby filling it with water and then adding carbon dioxide. Club soda may be identical to plain carbonated water or it may contain a small amount of table salt, sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium sulfate, or disodium phosphate, depending on the bottler. To make the taste slightly salty like the home made soda water these additives are added. The process can also occur naturally to produce carbonated mineral water, such as in Mihalkovo in the Bulgarian Rhodopes.