Ammonium bicarbonate (ABC) is a white powder or crystalline material with a faint ammonia odor. It's a common leavening agent used in baking. When heated, it decomposes and releases carbon dioxide, ammonia, and water, which act as leaveners. It's used in crackers, waffles, and steamed breads.Ammonium bicarbonate is used in the food industry as a leavening agent for flat baked goods, such as cookies and crackers. It is commonly used as an inexpensive nitrogen fertilizer in China, but is now being phased out in favor of urea for quality and stability. This compound is used as a component in the production of fire-extinguishing compounds, pharmaceuticals, dyes, pigments, and it is also a basic fertilizer, being a source of ammonia. Ammonium bicarbonate is still widely used in the plastics and rubber industry, in the manufacture of ceramics, in chrome leather tanning, and for the synthesis of catalysts. It is also used for buffering solutions to make them slightly alkaline during chemical purification, such as high-performance liquid chromatography.