(JMorris) wrote:

My
question I guess is really about chemistry and about how strong baking
soda is [...]

The answer to this part is: very, very weak (relative to lye). Some
10,000 - 100,000 times weaker. Sodium carbonate (washing soda) is
intermediate between lye and baking soda, but almost certainly still
too weak to have much effect on lignins.

Steve Turner

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