Industry involves the use of various gases which are not usually isolated in the atmosphere. CO2 is one such gas. It is present in the air, but at an extremely low concentration. It forms about 0.05% of the earth's atmosphere. This may seem insignificant, but it is not. CO2 is one of the most important gases in the atmosphere and so using a high pressure CO2 pump involves knowing more about it.
Carbon dioxide is odorless and has no color, so it cannot be detected by people. When it is reduced to a temperature at which it is in a solid state, it is known colloquially as "dry ice", and it is used to keep things cold. But dry ice is not stable and instantly vaporizes once it has been left exposed to the ordinary air. Storing or maintaining dry ice is not easy.
CO2 is formed by the reaction of carbon with oxygen. This is simply ordinary combustion, or burning. One carbon atom combines with two oxygen atoms to form the CO2 molecule. Carbon might not be regarded as the most common fire hazard but it burns to produce carbon dioxide.
The process of photosynthesis might be familiar to people. Plants and trees exhibit this process during the day, when the sun is shining on them. Photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide as an input material and produces oxygen as a by-product. The CO2 is taken up directly from the air. But at night, the opposite happens and plants produce carbon dioxide gas. This is why people sometimes raise opposition to deforestation. The main forests of the world are important sources of atmospheric oxygen and they also eliminate massive amounts of CO2.
This means that even though carbon dioxide is present in such a small concentration in the air, it is highly important. It is also potentially lethal because it cannot be used by the human body. It is exhaled together with water vapor when you breathe out. If the air is made up entirely of CO2, it will cause death through asphyxiation instantly.
This is linked to one of the main uses of CO2, which is known as controlled atmosphere storage, or CA storage. In such facilities, the air is almost entirely carbon dioxide, and fresh produce does not decompose, since aerobic bacteria cannot function. The nutritional value of the produce is not always stable over time, though.
Another application of CO2 is in carbonated drinks, or soft drinks. This is obvious and well known, but there is an aspect of this technique that is not advertised and which is not always known to the consumer of these products. CO2 dissolves easily in water to form a weak acid known as carbonous acid (H2CO3). This acid forms and disappears as the fizzy bubbles dissolve and re-evaporate. Leaving a tooth in a soft drink overnight will cause it to dissolve, so that it won't be there the next day.
Carbon dioxide should therefore be treated with caution by those who work with it. In a pure or mostly CO2 environment, death is caused by asphyxiation. Users of the pump equipment should be educated as to the risks and proper operating procedures.
Carbon dioxide is odorless and has no color, so it cannot be detected by people. When it is reduced to a temperature at which it is in a solid state, it is known colloquially as "dry ice", and it is used to keep things cold. But dry ice is not stable and instantly vaporizes once it has been left exposed to the ordinary air. Storing or maintaining dry ice is not easy.
CO2 is formed by the reaction of carbon with oxygen. This is simply ordinary combustion, or burning. One carbon atom combines with two oxygen atoms to form the CO2 molecule. Carbon might not be regarded as the most common fire hazard but it burns to produce carbon dioxide.
The process of photosynthesis might be familiar to people. Plants and trees exhibit this process during the day, when the sun is shining on them. Photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide as an input material and produces oxygen as a by-product. The CO2 is taken up directly from the air. But at night, the opposite happens and plants produce carbon dioxide gas. This is why people sometimes raise opposition to deforestation. The main forests of the world are important sources of atmospheric oxygen and they also eliminate massive amounts of CO2.
This means that even though carbon dioxide is present in such a small concentration in the air, it is highly important. It is also potentially lethal because it cannot be used by the human body. It is exhaled together with water vapor when you breathe out. If the air is made up entirely of CO2, it will cause death through asphyxiation instantly.
This is linked to one of the main uses of CO2, which is known as controlled atmosphere storage, or CA storage. In such facilities, the air is almost entirely carbon dioxide, and fresh produce does not decompose, since aerobic bacteria cannot function. The nutritional value of the produce is not always stable over time, though.
Another application of CO2 is in carbonated drinks, or soft drinks. This is obvious and well known, but there is an aspect of this technique that is not advertised and which is not always known to the consumer of these products. CO2 dissolves easily in water to form a weak acid known as carbonous acid (H2CO3). This acid forms and disappears as the fizzy bubbles dissolve and re-evaporate. Leaving a tooth in a soft drink overnight will cause it to dissolve, so that it won't be there the next day.
Carbon dioxide should therefore be treated with caution by those who work with it. In a pure or mostly CO2 environment, death is caused by asphyxiation. Users of the pump equipment should be educated as to the risks and proper operating procedures.
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