Club soda is a form of

carbonated water Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent quali ...

manufactured in North America, commonly used as a

drink mixer Drink mixers are the non-alcoholic ingredients in mixed drinks and cocktails. Mixers dilute the drink, lowering the alcohol by volume in the drink. They change, enhance, or add new flavors to a drink. They may make the drink sweeter, more sour ...

Sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (or simply “bicarb” especially in the UK) is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cat ...

potassium sulfate Potassium sulfate (US) or potassium sulphate (UK), also called sulphate of potash (SOP), arcanite, or archaically potash of sulfur, is the inorganic compound with formula K2SO4, a white water-soluble solid. It is commonly used in fertilizers, prov ...

potassium bicarbonate Potassium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: potassium hydrogencarbonate, also known as potassium acid carbonate) is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula KHCO3. It is a white solid. Production and reactivity It is manufactured by treating an ...

potassium citrate Potassium citrate (also known as tripotassium citrate) is a potassium salt of citric acid with the molecular formula K3C6H5O7. It is a white, hygroscopic crystalline powder. It is odorless with a saline taste. It contains 38.28% potassium by mass ...

, or sodium citrate is added to artificially replicate constituents commonly found in natural

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. It is usually still, but may be sparkling ( carbonated/ effervescent). Traditionally, mineral waters were used or consumed at t ...

s and offset the acidity of introducing carbon dioxide gas (which creates low 3–4 pH

carbonic acid Carbonic acid is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . The molecule rapidly converts to water and carbon dioxide in the presence of water. However, in the absence of water, it is quite stable at room temperature. The interconversion ...

when dissolved in water). Naturally effervescent '' Selters'' water from Germany gave rise to the generic use of the term for carbonated water, particularly from a soda siphon, in the United States as

seltzer water Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent qualit ...

. Seltzer water is artificially carbonated but lacks added minerals.

History

English chemist

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, English Separatist, separatist theologian, Linguist, grammarian, multi-subject educator and Classical libera ...

discovered an artificial method for producing

, described in a pamphlet called ''Directions for Impregnating Water with Fixed Air,'' published in 1772. The pamphlet explained the process of dripping

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

onto

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

, which produced

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

(CO₂) that was captured in a bowl of agitated water. Priestley thought such carbonated water was a cure for

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

and proposed the process to Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

to prevent scurvy during his second voyage to the South Seas. Priestley never realized the commercial potential of his product, though he did refer to it as his "happiest discovery." In 1783,

Johann Jacob Schweppe Johann Jacob Schweppe ( , ; 16 March 1740 – 18 November 1821) was a German watchmaker and amateur scientist who developed the first practical process to manufacture bottled carbonated mineral water and began selling the world's first bottled so ...

, a

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

and amateur scientist of

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, began the commercial production of carbonated mineral water by dissolving the CO₂ under pressure. In 1807, Benjamin Silliman, a

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

chemistry professor, began producing carbonated water under pressure and selling it in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. In the 1830s, Anyos Jedlik of Hungary opened a large-scale carbonated water factory. The original trademarked club soda was made by Cantrell & Cochrane of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland in 1877. The 'club' refers to the Kildare Street Club in

, which commissioned them to produce it.

As stain remover

The dissolved gas in carbonated water acts as a temporary

surfactant Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension or interfacial tension between two liquids, a liquid and a gas, or a liquid and a solid. The word ''surfactant'' is a Blend word, blend of "surface-active agent", coined in ...

, causing it to be recommended as a household remedy for removing stains, particularly those of red wine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Club soda Carbonated drinks Carbonated water Soft drinks

History

As stain remover

See also

References