eli5: Why is co2 the gas used to pressurize drinks. Why can’t something like nitrogen or atmosphere air be used.
In: 2772
A lot of answers are pretty spot on. However I think you ask why we can’t use something else to create a “fizzy” drink.
CO2 gas is very soluble in water (compared to other gasses) while still keeping it safe to drink. CO2 under (relatively) low pressure creates carbonic acid. Carbonic acid (H2CO3) creates a slight acidic flavour in your drink and due to its solubility it slowly gets released as CO2 gas.
If we were to take nitrogen (a notoriously stable molecule) we would have to put in a lot of effort to split the nitrogen atoms to create a bond with water. Nitrogen has a triple bond, so it would only come apart under extreme circumstances (it would also most likely create some nitric acids, which are not very healthy).
Oxygen is a very reactive molecule so we, theoretically, could use that. However, if we use oxygen in too high concentrations it would actually react with water forming peroxide (H2O2) which is toxic.
So in short: we use co2 gas because its cheap, easy to manage and non toxic
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