Magnesium bicarbonate or magnesium hydrogencarbonate, Mg(HCO3)2, is the bicarbonate salt of magnesium. It can be formed through the reaction of dilute solutions of carbonic acid (such as seltzer water) and magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia).

Magnesium bicarbonate
Magnesium bicarbonate
Names
IUPAC name
Magnesium hydrogencarbonate
Other names
Magnesium bicarbonate
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.016.582 Edit this at Wikidata
EC Number
  • 218-240-1
E number E504(ii) (acidity regulators, ...)
UNII
  • InChI=1S/2CH2O3.Mg/c2*2-1(3)4;/h2*(H2,2,3,4);/q;;+2/p-2
    Key: QWDJLDTYWNBUKE-UHFFFAOYSA-L
  • OC(=O)O[Mg]OC(=O)O
  • [Mg+2].OC([O-])=O.OC([O-])=O
Properties
Mg(HCO3)2
Molar mass 146.34 g/mol
5.7 g / (100 mL)
Related compounds
Other cations
Calcium bicarbonate
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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It can be prepared through the synthesis of magnesium acetate and sodium bicarbonate:

Mg(CH3COO)2 + 2 NaHCO3 → Mg(HCO3)2 + 2 CH3COONa

Magnesium bicarbonate exists only in aqueous solution. Magnesium does not form solid bicarbonate as does lithium. To produce it, a suspension of magnesium hydroxide is treated with pressurized carbon dioxide, producing a solution of magnesium bicarbonate:[1]

Mg(OH)2 + 2 CO2 → Mg(HCO3)2

Drying the resulting solution causes the magnesium bicarbonate to decompose, yielding magnesium carbonate, carbon dioxide, and water:

Mg2+ + 2 HCO3 → MgCO3 + CO2 + H2O

References

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  1. ^ Margarete Seeger; Walter Otto; Wilhelm Flick; Friedrich Bickelhaupt; Otto S. Akkerman. "Magnesium Compounds". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a15_595.pub2. ISBN 978-3527306732.