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A more accurate (but less simple) reaction chain, which still ignores CO2 (which may not be just from the air, but from the action of undestroyed, by
heating, Citric acid founded in common Baking Soda, used to prepare the Na2CO3, upon hydration, a path that occurs in baking a cake):
2 Na2CO3 + 2 H2O <---> 2 NaOH + 2 NaHCO3
2 NaOH + 2 Al + 6 H2O --> 2 NaAl(OH)4 + 3 H2 (g)
2x NaAl(OH)4 --Boiling--> 2x NaOH + 2x Al(OH)3 (s)
and with an excess of Aluminum:
2x NaOH + 2x Al + 6x H2O → 2x NaAl(OH)4 + 3x H2 (g)
Net:
2 Na2CO3 + 2(x+1) Al + (8+6x) H2O --> 2 NaHCO3 + 2(x+1) NaAl(OH)4 + 2x Al(OH)3 (s) + 3(x+1) H2 (g)
or, upon rescaling:
Na2CO3 + (x+1) Al + (4+3x) H2O --> NaHCO3 + (x+1) NaAl(OH)4 + x Al(OH)3 (s) + 1.5*(x+1) H2 (g)
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