Carbonation

Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates,

and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which
refers to the formation of carboxylic acids.
In inorganic chemistry and geology, carbonation is common. Metal hydroxides (MOH) and metal
oxides (M'O) react with CO2 to give bicarbonates and carbonates:
MOH + CO2 → M(HCO3)
M'O + CO2 → M'CO3
In reinforced concrete, the chemical reaction between carbon dioxide in the air and calcium
hydroxide and hydrated calcium silicate in the concrete is known as neutralisation. The similar
reaction in which calcium hydroxide from cement reacts with carbon dioxide and forms insoluble
calcium carbonate is carbonatation.

Henry's law
Henry's law states that PCO =KBxCO where PCO is the partial pressure of CO2 gas above the
2 2 2

solution. KB is Henry's law constant. KB increases as temperature increases. xCO is the mole
2

fraction of CO2 gas in the solution. According to Henry's law carbonation increases in a solution
as temperature decreases.
Since carbonation is the process of giving compounds like carbonic acid (liq) from CO2 (gas) {i.e.
making liquid from gasses} thus the partial pressure of CO2 has to decrease or the mole fraction
of CO2 in solution has to increase {PCO /xCO = KB} and both these two conditions support increase
2 2

in carbonation.