Description
Ammonium bicarbonate is used in the food industry as a raising
agent for flat baked goods, such as cookies and crackers, and in
China in steamed buns and Chinese almond cookies. It was commonly
used in the home before modern day baking powder was made
available. In China it is called edible or food-grade "smelly
powder". Many baking cookbooks (especially from Scandinavian
countries) may still refer to it as hartshorn or hornsalt [3][4]
(e.g., NO: "hjortetakksalt", "salt of hart's horn") In many cases
it may be substituted with baking soda or baking powder or a
combination of both, depending on the recipe composition and
leavening requirements.[5] Compared to baking soda or potash,
hartshorn has the advantage of producing more gas for the same
amount of agent, and of not leaving any salty or soapy taste in the
finished product, as it completely decomposes into water and
gaseous products that evaporate during baking. It cannot be used
for moist, bulky baked goods however, such as normal bread or
cakes, since some ammonia will be trapped inside and will cause an
unpleasant taste.
It is commonly used as an inexpensive nitrogen fertilizer in China,
but is now being phased out in favor of urea for quality and
stability. This compound is used as a component in the production
of fire-extinguishing compounds, pharmaceuticals, dyes, pigments,
and it is also a basic fertilizer being a source of ammonia.
Ammonium bicarbonate is still widely used in the plastic and rubber
industry, in the manufacture of ceramics, in chrome leather
tanning, and for the synthesis of catalysts.[citation needed]
It is also used for buffering solutions to slightly alkaline pH
during chemical purification, such as High Performance Liquid
Chromatography. Because it entirely decomposes to volatile
compounds this allows rapid recovery of the compound of interest by
freeze-drying.