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These days, industrial activities make use of certain specialized gases which do not naturally occur in the concentrations or states required by industry. One of these is carbon dioxide, or CO2, to use the scientific abbreviation. CO2 is present in the atmosphere but only constitutes about 0.03% of the air. Even though this sounds like an unimportant proportion, it is anything but that - CO2 is one of the integral gases in the environment and the air. Anyone who operates a high pressure CO2 pump should educate themselves on this gas.
As a gas, CO2 has no smell or color. It is therefore impossible to detect by human senses. In its frozen form, it is known as dry ice, and it is used in cooling applications. However, it soon evaporates once exposed to the ordinary atmosphere. It is therefore difficult to store or trap CO2 in this form.
Carbon and oxygen combine to form CO2. This takes place during normal burning, or combustion. The carbon dioxide molecule, as its name indicates, is made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.
Carbon dioxide is also formed by trees and other plants through the reverse of photosynthesis at night, in the absence of the sun. During the day, plants perform the process of photosynthesis, during which carbon dioxide is harvested from the atmosphere and converted into oxygen. At night, however, the process is reversed and the plants release CO2. The destruction of forests is a threat to the safe composition of the atmosphere because trees remove large amounts of CO2 from the air.
0.03% might sound like a very small fraction, but CO2 is nonetheless an important gas. It is not used by the body, and is exhaled with water vapor during respiration. In an environment containing only CO2, respiration is impossible and suffocation will ensue in a short space of time.
CA (controlled atmosphere) storage relies on this principle to prevent aerobic bacteria (those using oxygen) from causing fresh produce to rot. The facility in which CA storage is used has an atmosphere composed of nearly 100% CO2. Aerobic bacteria cannot rot anything in this environment and the produce can be stored for a very long time, even years. Research has shown that the nutritional quality of the produce does not survive, though.
Another obvious use of CO2 is in soft drinks, or carbonated beverages. This is known to the public. But what is not so popularly known or advertised is that the carbonation of the drinks gives them an acidic aspect. CO2 dissolves in water to produce carbonous acid (H2CO3). This happens as the bubbles of CO2 dissolve into the drink. Even though this is a weak acid, it is still acidic. As an experiment, leave a tooth in a glass of a soft drink over night. The tooth might dissolve and disappear during that time.
Carbon dioxide is not a gas that should be handled lightly by people. In high concentrations it can cause death through suffocation. Those who make use of high pressure pump equipment should therefore be aware of its nature and how to observe the proper precautions.
As a gas, CO2 has no smell or color. It is therefore impossible to detect by human senses. In its frozen form, it is known as dry ice, and it is used in cooling applications. However, it soon evaporates once exposed to the ordinary atmosphere. It is therefore difficult to store or trap CO2 in this form.
Carbon and oxygen combine to form CO2. This takes place during normal burning, or combustion. The carbon dioxide molecule, as its name indicates, is made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.
Carbon dioxide is also formed by trees and other plants through the reverse of photosynthesis at night, in the absence of the sun. During the day, plants perform the process of photosynthesis, during which carbon dioxide is harvested from the atmosphere and converted into oxygen. At night, however, the process is reversed and the plants release CO2. The destruction of forests is a threat to the safe composition of the atmosphere because trees remove large amounts of CO2 from the air.
0.03% might sound like a very small fraction, but CO2 is nonetheless an important gas. It is not used by the body, and is exhaled with water vapor during respiration. In an environment containing only CO2, respiration is impossible and suffocation will ensue in a short space of time.
CA (controlled atmosphere) storage relies on this principle to prevent aerobic bacteria (those using oxygen) from causing fresh produce to rot. The facility in which CA storage is used has an atmosphere composed of nearly 100% CO2. Aerobic bacteria cannot rot anything in this environment and the produce can be stored for a very long time, even years. Research has shown that the nutritional quality of the produce does not survive, though.
Another obvious use of CO2 is in soft drinks, or carbonated beverages. This is known to the public. But what is not so popularly known or advertised is that the carbonation of the drinks gives them an acidic aspect. CO2 dissolves in water to produce carbonous acid (H2CO3). This happens as the bubbles of CO2 dissolve into the drink. Even though this is a weak acid, it is still acidic. As an experiment, leave a tooth in a glass of a soft drink over night. The tooth might dissolve and disappear during that time.
Carbon dioxide is not a gas that should be handled lightly by people. In high concentrations it can cause death through suffocation. Those who make use of high pressure pump equipment should therefore be aware of its nature and how to observe the proper precautions.
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