Why do you personally know this? I DO know that pulling a vacuum on liquid is a method used to remove bubbles from glues and casting solutions, so it certainly DOES cause dissolved gas to leave solution in those cases. Otherwise the people doing it are performing irrelevant work. The cite I gave above shows that the same method works for removing carbonation from wine. So I don’t see why I should believe your personal guarantee.
As for the other case, reducing the TOTAL pressure outside the liquid (which is what pulling a vacuum does) is more relevant than reducing the partial pressure of CO2 in the atmosphere, which isn’t relevant. As I say – would it be different if you did it in an atmosphere of pure CO2 with the same total pressure? When you’re inside a vacuum, it doesn’t know or care what the makeup of the atmosphere outside is.
Bubbling nitrogen through it will work as well. I think that the vacuum process might be slow, admittedly, I’ve never tried to remove CO2 from a carbonated beverage. I’ve been mostly concerned about oxygen when I degas, so I freeze it and pull a vacuum at the same time. I think it will work a lot better if you agitate. Water is kind of funny. It really doesn’t respond to a vacuum like other solvents.
I have two ideas based on analytical chemistry degassing methods:
pour it through a cloth or paper filter and collect it on the other side. This maximizes exposed surface area and also provides massive numbers of nucleation sites. You can reuse the same apparatus forever if you wish. I would buy a glass funnel and some filter paper and set it up as a permanent stand in your office (like an espresso machine) and promote your uniqueness.
One other possibility is getting a fritted funnel and not worrying about filter paper.
The other method is simply bubbling a non-water-soluble gas through your beverage before drinking. Helium and Argon both work well. You just need a “bubble drip” for a decent time and all of the CO2 will be gone.
Stop. Time out a second. Apparently there’s some misunderstanding here, so let’s take it from the top.
Carbonation in beverages is carbon dioxide dissolved in the the beverage. The amount of carbon dioxide (or any gas) that can be held in a liquid at equilibrium is a function of many things, one of which is the type of gas (different gasses will dissolve different amounts, in other words) and another of which is the* partial pressure* of the gas over the liquid.
The partial pressure comes in because the free surface of the liquid is always exchanging gas molecules with the gas above. A high partial pressure of the gas (carbon dioxide, say) will drive more molecules into solution, resulting (at equilibrium again) in more dissolved gas in solution in the liquid.
Note that I keep saying “at equilibrium.” Some change in conditions (such as opening a bottle, reducing the carbon dioxide pressure above the beverage) will eliminate equilibrium, and things change. They don’t, however, change instantaneously. That should be obvious; if it were otherwise, there would be no need for this thread. It takes time and energy to dissolve or undissolve gasses.
Now, to release a gas from solution, it’s necessary (so far as I know) to change the equilibrium so that the partial pressure of the gas over the liquid is lower. That way more gas molecules make their way out than make their way in. That’s necessary, but not sufficient to quickly re-establish equilibrium–not all gas molecules are at the free surface of a liquid, waiting to get out. That’s why shaking a pop bottle is effective.
Finally, note that dissolved gas is not the same thing as mixed in bubbles. Gas molecules in already-existing bubbles don’t need to migrate to a free surface; they’re not in solution to begin with. Removing bubbles is a different issue than removing dissolved gas.
Now, with that done:
Because I’ve personally done it. Gradually applying a vacuum won’t immediately cause the gas to leave solution. But shake it a little and nucleate some bubbles…
I’ve done that, too, to remove air from an epoxy mixture. The vacuum removes air bubbles that are whipped into the mixture (which, in my case, you could see because it turned the epoxy white). Whipped-in air bubbles are not the same thing as dissolved gas. Hopefully it should be obvious why your later list of cites is irrelevant.
Your cite describes how pulling the wine through filter pads using a vacuum pump will remove carbonation. As it will: the filter provides some agitation, and the vacuum will enlarge and draw out the bubbles once nucleated. Your cite, however, agrees that the vacuum is not necessary, only convenient. (“If you don’t have access to this system, vigourously stir your wine for 5 minutes a day …”)
An apology here would be nice.
This is false. Henry’s Law (Wikipedia cite, but it should be sufficient) governs the solubility of gasses in liquids, and the total dissolved concentration is a function of partial pressure, not total.
As Antigen suggested, pour into a glass stir with a spoon for a minute or two. Done!
Works everytime.
(It’s part of an old remedy - flat lemonade (sprite/7up in american terms) is excellent if you’re feeling poorly. Particualry if you’re having stomach problems or keeping stuff down)
if you leave it in a container a couple of plastic swizzle (stirring) sticks would help speed up the bubbling. better would be a spiral design or those with holes.
I find it funny that you guys find it so hard to get soda to go flat. I even try resealing stuff, and it tends to go flat within a couple hours, just from the agitation of drinking it. It always goes flat when I don’t want it to.
