Carbon Dioxide Applications

Beverage carbonation
CO2 is used in beverage carbonation. At 55 PSI, CO2 can be used to carbonate water, so that the serving pressure can remain at 12PSI. It increases the defoaming effect in drinks. The composition differs from beverage to beverage. The composition of CO2 differs from beverage to beverage.

Meat Mixing
Cryogenic CO2 is used in meat mixing. It is used to prevent the growth of bacteria. CO2 is also used for meat packaging. CO2 minimizes contamination of foods like burgers, sliced meat. Chopped/diced meat. The amount of CO2 absorbed by the meat varies from 0 to 1.79L CO2/kg, depending on the applied packaging and storage conditions.

Healthcare
It is used in Laparoscopy, Endoscopy as an insufflation agent. When patients need to undergo these procedures, CO2 is used to insufflate the patients. Patients are insufflated to 15mm Hg, which is considered the safe level. Patients are insufflated with CO2 to increase and stabilize the body cavities, for better visibility of the surgical areas.

Oil & Gas
CO2 is used in oil and gas extraction, Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction is a commonly used method to separate various components, producing a pure, clean, and safe product. CO2 reaches a supercritical state at 1071 psi and 31.1 °C. When a molecule is in a supercritical state, it has properties of both liquid and gases. CO2 is used in EoR-Enhanced oil Recovery, which extracts 30 to 60% more of the reservoir’s oil. The purity of CO2 used in oil extraction is 99.99%.

Pulp & paper
The pulp and paper industry have widespread utilization of CO2; its main usage is to regulate and stabilize the pH levels. Using CO2 is more environment-friendly, and also regulates the pH in a more benign manner. CO2 is also used to reduce the CaCO3 dissolution, eliminating the mineral deposits like lime sludge, slaker grot, all of which are mainly constituted at CaCO3. CO2 is also used for pulp-washing. Pulp washing is the technique to purify the pulp, which helps filtration and bleaching. CO2 is also a better alternative for soap acidulation, over sulphuric acid.

pH control
CO2 is used in pH control, as it is a safer alternative than mineral acids. It is an effective channel for lowering the pH of various kinds of alkaline water. Initially, dissolved CO2 forms carbonic acid, which then dissociates into bicarbonates, carbonates, and hydrogen ions, these hydrogen ions in turn reduce the pH.

Wastewater treatment
When CO2 is infused into wastewater, it then forms carbonic acids, which naturally adjusts the pH to a suitable level. None of the CO2 is released into the atmosphere when CO2 is used to treat wastewater. And also, the byproducts released are not harmful to the environment, making CO2 the efficient alternative for wastewater treatment.