https://qz.com/1902468/us-carbon-dioxide-supply-is-a-bottleneck-for-covid-19-vaccines/
Over the last few months, industries in the US have had to contend with a troublesome carbon dioxide shortage. From May to July, beer brewers and soda makers across the country were at a loss to source the fizzy stuff.
But as summer turns to fall, a lack of CO2 could cause an even more problematic shortage: one of dry ice.
---Snark alert---
Carbon Dioxide. Total threat to existence of all life on this planet. Must eliminate burning of all carbon based fuel. Horrible stuff. Worse than cyanide. Kills penguins and polar bears.
Oh! Wait! Whaddya mean we need it to transport Covid vaccines?
And here I thought brewers didn't need to introduce artificial carbonation, because the fermentation process created it's own.
ReplyDeleteReal beer doesn't. Light (Lite) beer, AKA fake swill, does because it is low in carbs and not real beer.
DeleteIf you want it in bottles, no big deal. Sugar it before you bottle it, it carbonates itself. You can do the same to kegs, (or you can force carbonate with higher than fermentation pressures) but you won't push it all out without external CO2. You can use air, but you'd better have it empty in a day or it starts tasting like Coors or Bud.
DeleteBut I thought CO2 is quite easily harvested from the atmosphere. I know quite a few gas wells in Texas produce it as an impurity, but it is stripped out of the production stream and sent to miscible flood projects, where it is pumped downhole for enhanced oil recovery in old fields.
ReplyDeleteI have had some difficulty in getting refill co2 for my sodastream machine. I suspect the main problem with supply is the government has prioritized co2/dry ice for keeping the "vaccines" cold. Add in labor shortages with a guess that the temperature achieved when you get to dry ice plays merry hob with the seals for the machines used and the difficulties getting those seals with the supply chain problems. "for the want of a nail"
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