Sparkling water may or may not be liked, and here we are in the realm of personal taste.
Leaving aside the indifferent and the hostile, for all those who cannot resist the allure of bubbles, there is a precise and rigorous method of measuring sparkling water, thanks to which it is possible to define the type of bubble and level of carbonation, leaving the uncertain universe of subjective perception.
The numerical measurement approach is based on a simple principle: sparkling water is the solution of CO2 (solute) in water (solvent) in the form of carbonic acid (H2CO3).
This depends on many factors, not least the presence of substances already dissolved in water that may hinder the process. However, the parameters that are considered most important are temperature and pressure.
In the light of what has been written so far, we can therefore understand that the measurement of sparkling water consists of calculating the amount of CO2 dissolved in water.
It must be remembered that the correct unit of measurement of this value is Gas Volumes
Pseudo sparkling water
Incidentally, we would like to add that when the sparkling water from a dispenser is not persistent, i.e. it dissolves immediately, we are most likely in the presence of a false solution, a fine mixture, which resembles sparkling water in the initial phase but which in reality is only a mixture
Carbonation Tester
Returning to the measurement of sparkling water, it should be specified that Gas Volumes are directly related to the mass per unit volume of the solute, in our case CO2.
For lovers of chemistry and physics, the reference is to Herny’s Law, which defines saturated a solution at a given pressure when internal and external pressure are equivalent.
From a practical point of view, it is possible to carry out the measurement mentioned in this article through the use of a carbonation tester, which allows us to read the relative pressure at a given temperature, to be then compared with the appropriate conversion table that will allow us to determine the value in Gas Volumes:
| Pression (Kg/cm2) T(°C) | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2.8 | 3 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4 |
| 3 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
| 4 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| 5 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 6 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| 7 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
Within this table you can also find the famous Coca Cola standard from 3.2 Gas Volumes till 4,2, a parameter beyond which we would come very close to tears, even from the most die-hard bubble lovers.
The size of the bubble is related to many factors, including the saturation value, the presence of dissolved salts, and the steering of the flow out of the container.
Achieving a good carbonation of water is a process that requires many steps, at the top of which is undoubtedly the objective value of the amount of dissolved CO2.
In the next GWS blog articles, we will look at what causes may lie behind a system that does not work or is otherwise unable to provide adequate carbonation.
