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Carbon Dioxide, CO2, is a tasteless, colorless, odorless,
nonflammable, liquefied gas. Carbon dioxide is an integral
part of the basic life cycle in nature. It is exhaled by humans
and animals, then used by plants to help them grow. Plants,
in turn, release oxygen, which people depend on for survival.
Unlike atmospheric gases, air separation is not the primary
source of carbon dioxide. Though sometimes it is derived from
directly combusting a fuel, the most economical way to produce
carbon dioxide is to recover it as a byproduct from other
companies' manufacturing processes or from natural wells.
Then it is purified and liquefied and sold to our customers
worldwide.
Carbon Dioxide is used in diverse applications covering many
industries, including:
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Food and Beverage...Carbon dioxide is used in beverage
carbonation. A natural anti-microbial, carbon dioxide
is also used to increase the shelf life of juice and dairy
products, protecting taste and texture, and reducing the
need for preservatives, natural and artificial. Other
applications include: food freezing and chilling, packaging,
mixer and blender cooling, ingredient cooling and conveying,
and in-transit refrigeration. In its solid form, it is
known as dry ice. Many people know carbon dioxide is used
in food freezing, carbonated beverages and dry ice. But
most don't realize it also helps to clear the air, clean
the water and save the trees. |
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Water Treatment...Industrial and municipal wastewater
must be neutralized before being discharged to the environment.
Carbon dioxide replaces harsher acids for the alkaline
neutralization process. It's safer and cheaper than sulfuric-acid
systems, improves controllability, and there's less downtime
and no labor to handle chemicals. It also is less corrosive,
and easier to handle and store. |
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Metal Fabrication...Commonly utilized as a shielding
gas during welding. This prevents atmospheric contamination
of molten weld metal during gas shielded electric arc
welding process. |
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Plant Growth...Carbon dioxide systems greatly improve
growth and quality of plants in the greenhouse. Increasing
concentrations of the gas results in larger, healthier
and faster-growing plants and lower operating costs, especially
during the winter, when it can reduce heating costs by
50%. Carbon dioxide replaces gas generators, saving fuel
costs and eliminating harmful emissions. |
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Pulp and Paper...Carbon dioxide is being used for several
different applications within paper mills, all developed
to reduce costs and recover valuable chemicals used within
the mill process. A process using carbon dioxide, instead
of sulfuric acid, to treat pitch build-up in screen rooms
is proving very successful. |
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Saving the Forest...Carbon dioxide is used to make
precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), which is used to
reduce the use of virgin wood fiber in paper making. Applications
include: supply of carbon dioxide for on-site PCC production
and in-situ formation of PCC during the paper-making process.
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Energy Source...Storage of carbon dioxide at its triple
point (the temperature-pressure combination at which carbon
dioxide can exist simultaneously as a solid, liquid or
gas) is being tested as a means of providing closed-loop
refrigeration in order to shift electrical-energy demand
to off-peak consumption hours. Under test in Japan, the
process offers the potential to customers to shift electrical
load while maintaining temperatures as low as minus 60°F
(-51°C). |
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Cleaning and Solvent Extraction...In its supercritical
state (87.9°F (31.1°C) and 1070.6 psia (7.38MPa)),
carbon dioxide becomes a versatile solvent. It can replace
chlorinated fluorocarbons to clean equipment components.
It also can replace many volatile organic chemicals for
operations such as decaffeinating coffee or extracting
fat from food products. |
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Fire Fighting...Carbon dioxide smothers fires without
damaging or contaminating materials and is used for fighting
fires when water is ineffective, undesirable or unavailable. |
To avoid harmful effects, producers and customers should follow
strict safety guidelines for storage and handling, and consult
our carbon dioxide Material Safety Data Sheets.
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Carbon Dioxide, MSDS |
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Carbon Dioxide (Liquid), MSDS |
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Carbon Dioxide (Dry Ice), MSDS |
Minneapolis Oxygen Company offers its customers a variety
of argon supply options including:
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Bulk liquid delivery in tank trucks |
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Cylinders |
Argon...Facts
Because of its low thermal conductivity,
argon provides window manufacturers with the gas barrier they
need to produce double-pane insulated windows. During the
production process, argon gas is injected between two window
panes. This insulation barrier greatly improves the window's
energy efficiency.
A co-product of oxygen and nitrogen production, argon is
manufactured commercially by means of air separation technology.
In a cryogenic process, atmospheric air is compressed and
cooled. Following liquefaction, the air is fractionally distilled
based on the different boiling points of each component. (The
boiling point of argon is between those of nitrogen and oxygen.)
During distillation, liquid nitrogen is the first product
extracted from the high-pressure column. Next, a stream containing
oxygen and argon (plus other gases) is withdrawn. The crude
stream, containing approximately 10 percent argon, is refined
in a separate distillation column to produce argon with 98
percent purity.
Manufacturers can further refine the stream by mixing the
argon with hydrogen, catalytically burning the trace oxygen
to water, drying and, finally, distilling the stream to remove
remaining hydrogen and nitrogen. Using this process, producers
can achieve an argon product with 99.9995 percent purity.
Select a gas from the list of the below for more information
about gas applications and supply options.
| » Atmospheric Gases |
» Process Gases |
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| » Gases & Mixtures for Specific Applications |
» Rare Gases |
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