Does making sodium bicarbonate lock up CO2?

Bicarbonate is made by bubbling CO2 through soda ash solution, so CO2 is bound into the product. It is not a removal: the CO2 is released again when bicarbonate is heated or meets acid, in baking, fire extinguishers or flue gas cleaning. Report CO2 released, not a credit.

How to report

• Fuel and electricity for the plant in Scope 1 and 2.
• CO2 bought or taken from your own lime kiln, as a separate line.
• No negative figure for CO2 held in the product.

Why

The GHG Protocol counts emissions released. CO2 held for months before release is not stored in any lasting way.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads bills, fuel invoices and production records into dated, fingerprinted records, so the figure you send a buyer can be traced to its documents.

• Soda ash plant CO2
• CO2 from soda ash neutralisation
• Fire extinguisher refill

Sources: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.