Re: Why can a cold soda hold more carbonation than a warm soda?

Emmie,

Carbon dioxide is soluble in water by combining with the water to produce 
carbonic acid.  The reaction follows:

CO2  +  H2O  <===>  H2CO3

The reaction arrow points both ways because it is reversible, depending on 
the temperature of the soluciton and the gas pressure on the system.  
According to a text book  "College Chemistry" 2nd Edition, by Paul R. 
Frey, Prentice Hall, 1958, the relationship between CO2 solubility and 
temperature is as follows:

Temp. Deg C.      Grams Gas/100 grams Water
     0                      0.355
    10                      0.232
    20                      0.169
    30                      0.126
    40                      0.097
    50                      0.076
    60                      0.058

When soda companies bottle or can their products, they chill the solution 
to about 35 degrees F. and lubricate the bottoms of the containers with 
liquid soap solution as they move along the conveyor belt system to 
minimize jostling them.  Mechanical agitation also disrupts the 
equilibrium between gas in solution and gas coming out of solution.

I hope this helps.