eli5: Why is co2 the gas used to pressurize drinks. Why can’t something like nitrogen or atmosphere air be used.
In: 2772
~~Its free~~ – from the yeast which beverage companies already use, so you get it as a by product.
It can dissolve easily – So more can be added thus keeping the fizz for longer.
It imparts an acidic/lemony taste because it reacts with water to create Carbonic acid.
Nitrogen is used in some drinks and atmosphere has too much oxygen in it to be used for drinks, even though it is mostly Nitrogen.
Too much oxygen leads to, well, oxidation, which changes the color, smell, and taste of drinks.
Carbonated water creates carbonic acid which gives a little sting and sourness to your drink and tickles your nose when the bubbles burst at the top.
Nitrogen infusion gives a creamy texture and it’s used in beer and coffee.
Oxygenated water is advertised as having health benefits, but at high amounts of infusion you start getting hydrogen peroxide, with is not good to drink.
Just using regular air is basically nitrogen and oxygen.
Water is a polar substance, meaning that there’s an unbalanced charge on either side of the molecule. This is because it’s electrons aren’t distributed in a balanced way.
CO2 is also polar, but nitrogen is non-polar meaning that it’s charge is equal around the molecule (N2).
In chemistry it’s easier to dissolve a polar substance within a polar one, and vice versa.
Carbon dioxide’s solubility in water is 1.688 grams per liter, whereas nitrogen’s solubility is 0.019 grams per liter.
So you can dissolve Nitrogen in water, but not nearly as much. So you can’t get nearly as much fizz out of it.
CO2 also has a distinctive taste that is sought after.
The actual answer is that CO2 dissolves in water much better than other gases. Almost no nitrogen dissolves.
Largely because hard fizzy drinks (Beer, champagne) had CO2 from the fermentation process.
To recreate the fizzyness in soft drinks, we originally used sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, which is why we sometimes call those drinks sodas.
CO2 is mildly toxic, so it keeps bacteria from growing in the drink.
We can use nitrogen to produce the fizzyness, but it tastes different, and doesn’t provide the same anti-bacterial properties
Oxygen is a very reactive chemical, so 1) pressurized oxygen is a fire risk, and 2) high pressure oxygen in the drink would react with the other stuff in the drink, making it go bad.
There’s some beer out there that does use Nitrogen as an added pressurization agent. It changes the texture of the product, especially the head. It’s much more creamy.
If you want to see what a soda taste like with nitrogen there is Pepsi Nitro.
If you pick it up you should know that you are supposed to pour the can into a glass. There are direction on the can but you basically just want to turn the can straight upside down over your glass and dump it the way you would NOT do with a regular soda or beer. It should have a decent foamy head so use a larger glass.
The Nitrogen makes it taste very creamy but it doesn’t hold much of a fizz. I tried it from the can without pouring and it was less creamy and still essentially flat.
I have also seen some cold brew canned coffee’s that used nitrogen and though I haven’t tried them I’m now curious to see if they also get the same creaminess.
Nitrogen is frequently used for some beers. It results in smaller, more evenly distributed bubbles to give a smoother texture.
The CO2 that occurs in things like beer and champagne is a natural byproduct of the fermentation that produced alcohol. It gets trapped in the bottle and results in natural carbonation. Soda uses CO2 because its cheap and has a familiar texture to naturally carbonated drinks.
Well, Open air is 25% oxygen, and oxygen is a no-go. Oxygen oxidizes things, and that tastes bad; ever tasted sliced up fruit left on the counter to open air for a day? Tastes like wet, sweetened cardboard.
If we deoxygenated the air, that’s cool tho. Nitrogen can add a creamy taste/feel, so it’s common in things like whipped cream and coffee. But that’s comparatively expensive to do.
CO2 adds a bit of an acidic taste that people also enjoy, and it has the bonus of being a byproduct of alcohol production, meaning it’s basically free. Soda companies can just buy CO2 from brewers for comparative pennies, and use it to fluff up their drinks
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