Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a colorless, non-combustible, odorless and tasteless gas. Together with water, it forms carbonic acid (H₂CO₃).

Special properties of carbon dioxide, such as its inertness and high water solubility, make CO₂ an ideal aid in numerous htmlects of daily life and environmental technology. In foodstuffs technology, for example, CO₂ is used to carbonate many beverages. It is just as useful for conditioning drinking water and neutralizing waste water. As a cryogenic liquid or in solid form (dry ice), CO₂ is used as a refrigerant at temperatures as low as -79℃.

Carbon dioxide is obtained partly from natural sources and partly from industrial exhaust gases. Economically significant quantities of carbon dioxide are generated as a by product of synthetic gas and ethylene oxide.

Natural sources of CO₂ are located especially in volcanic areas. Here, CO₂ sometimes exists even at the surface, or wells are drilled to access known deposits.