Airgas, an Air Liquide company and US supplier of industrial, medical and specialty gases, recently opened a new liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice facility in Stockton CA.
The facility, which the company said was engineered to have minimal environmental impact, is a zero runoff/discharge site. Technology at the site will capture and recycle all process and rain water that comes in contact with the equipment. The plant converts gaseous carbon dioxide that would otherwise be discarded as a byproduct of ethanol, manufacturing it into approximately 500 tons of liquid carbon dioxide per day.
“The Airgas business model is built on the foundation of local customer service,” said Matt Whitton, regional president at Airgas. “We stay close to our more than 1 million customers and strive to meet their needs by working collaboratively with them and our partner suppliers to help their companies succeed.
“We announced our plans to build this facility in March 2018, to have three strategically located CO2 plants in Northern, Central and Southern California, and today we deliver on that commitment.”
Customers can use food- and beverage-grade carbon dioxide in applications such as brewing, carbonated beverages and winemaking, as well as flash freezing and food packaging, Airgas claimed. The adjoining Airgas Dry Ice facility will convert up to 250 tons per day of liquid carbon dioxide into dry ice, which is used for safe transport in food and agriculture applications and a variety of life science and industrial processes.
To mark its commitment to the greater Stockton community, Airgas said it plans to make a $5,000 donation to a local high school or junior college welding program, in conjunction with the opening of this facility.