Usage of CO2, Usage of Carbon Dioxide

// Industrial areas of use

What are the uses of CO2?

On this page, we describe some of the industrial uses of carbon dioxide. To start, it is used for cooling (as dry ice) and refrigerating, in fire extinguishers (as it blocks fire from getting the oxygen it needs), for inflating life jackets, to create bubbles during foaming rubbers, plastics, and concrete, to preserve food in food packaging, in the production of carbonated soft drinks and alcohols with bubbles, and for helping the growth of plants in greenhouses (a process called CO₂ enrichment).

// CO2 enrichment

CO₂ for greenhouses

CO₂ enrichment is very important as the amount of carbon dioxide in the air outdoors is only 420 ppm (parts per million) or 0.042%. This amount is more or less sufficient for most plants to grow outdoors, however when placing a lot of plants together in indoor environments like greenhouses, the carbon dioxide level drops quickly as plants are using it for photosynthesis (in fact, they are “eating” it). Greenhouses are our main target clients.

// eco-friendly fuel

CO₂ for synthetic fuels

CO₂ is one of the two main components to create synthetic fuel. The second one is hydrogen. This is how carbon-free energy is converted into carbon-neutral high-energy-density fuels.

Synthetic fuels can immediately replace conventional fuels without the need for performing any upgrades to existing vehicles. Thus, they will be critical to speed up the transformation of the automobile sector and make it carbon-neutral.

// For the pharmaceutical industry

CO₂ as a polar solvent

Recently, liquid CO₂ is being used as a polar solvent for the extraction of chemicals in cosmetics and pharma industrial applications. It is called supercritical fluid extraction. Unlike many popular solvents, supercritical carbon dioxide is non-flammable. Its solvation power can be adjusted by varying the density of the fluid and the CO₂ leaves almost no residue in the extracted products compared to conventional organic solvents. It is widely available in a very pure form and in commercial quantities and is also 100% inert and non-toxic.

// Industrial us

Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery

Another important CO₂ use is a process known as EOR/EGR, which is when CO₂ is used to help extract shale oil and gas from wells by injecting the carbon dioxide under the ground. It is an important industrial application, as many million tons of CO₂ are pumped into such wells each year.

// contact

Ask us anything

These are not all the possible applications of CO₂, so we will update this page with more information as time goes by.
If you do have any questions, then please feel free to contact us.

Usage of CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide)