Carbonics, Inc. is the Greater Houston Area’s number
one source for dry ice, CO2, nitrogen, helium, beer gas, syrups
and beverage equipment sales & service.
When it comes to dry ice, no one will
take care of you like Dry Ice Houston, a division of Carbonics, Inc. We deliver block and pellet
dry ice weekly and daily to hospitals, laboratories, doctor's offices,
grocery stores, airlines, and just about anywhere else you can think
of. We have a factory certified
installation team for your soda, beer, or liquor systems.
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas
composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. A very widely known
chemical compound, it is frequently called by its formula CO2.
We deliver CO2 in high-pressure cylinders to bars, restaraunts, clubs,
and diners all over Houston and the surrounding area.
DON'T waste money on Bulk CO2!! Using
cylinders can save you hundreds of $$ per month and avoid Fire
Department regulations.
Ask about our Beer System installations and maintenance
Carbonics installs
complete Beer Delivery Systems from the Keg to the tap. We can
provide Glycol Chillers, insulated bundled tubing, Beer gas Nitrogen
and Co2 high pressure tanks, or a Nitrogen generator and gas
blender. With our beer pumps you can run beer halfway to the moon
if you need to. As a family-run small business we understand the
need to make everything work right the first time without breaking the
bank to do so! We'll give you a free estimate with a couple of
options for your system. Read more about
installs here.
We also deal with Soda System installations and maintenance
Carbonics can design and install the fountain drink dispenser
or bar gun dispenser system to meet your needs. We'll be happy to
come give you a free estimate and after you compare prices, we'll
explain how we can do it for so much less! The secret to
low-cost, budget soda installations is in giving you, the customer,
only what you need. But also, it's important that we build out
for you everything that you DO need! Think about that for a
minute. We could make the installation very low-cost and if you
needed a water booster and water regulator, but we left that out in
order to lower the initial bid, then your drinks would never taste
right. Not only that, but your expensive carbonator would wear out that
much sooner and you would lose repeat business. We'll go over
each piece of hardware in our quote, and explain what it does and why
you need it at your location. That's what sets Carbonics apart.
We see ourselves as your partners as far as the beverage side of the
business is concerned, and we'll help you make sure you have all that
you need and nothing that you don't! Call 713-944-7900 and ask
for the Service Department!
Already have a draught beer dispensing system or existing soda
machine? We can handled your repairs and
maintenance. If your beer is pouring foamy or your sodas no
longer taste like they did when the system was new, then just give us a
call and we'll send a technician to not only resolve the problem, but
explain to you what happened and how you can handle it on your own next
time. It's a different way of doing business here at Carbonics.
Carbon Dioxide Facts
Carbon dioxide results from the combustion of organic matter if
sufficient amounts of oxygen are present. It is also produced by
various microorganisms from fermentation and cellular respiration.
Plants utilize carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, using both the
carbon and the oxygen to construct carbohydrates. Plants also release
oxygen to the atmosphere which is subsequently used by animals, many
fungi and some bacteria for respiration (breathing).
To test for this gas. When a lighted splint
is inserted into a test tube containing this gas, it is immediately
extinguished, as carbon dioxide does not support combustion.
Chemical and Physical Properties of CO2
Carbon dioxide is a colorless gas which, when inhaled at high
concentrations, produces a sour taste in the mouth and stinging
sensation in the nose and throat. Carbon dioxide, either as a gas
or as dry ice, should be handled only in well ventilated areas.
Its density is about 1.5 times that of air. The carbon dioxide
molecule (O=C=O) contains two double bonds and has a linear shape. It
has no electrical dipole. As it is fully oxidized, it is not very
reactive and in particular not flammable.
At temperatures below -78oC (-109oF), carbon dioxide condenses into
a white solid called dry ice. Liquid carbon
dioxide forms only at pressures above 5.1 atm; at atmospheric pressure,
it passes directly between the gaseous and solid phases in a process
called sublimation.
Uses of CO2
Carbon dioxide is used to produce carbonated soft drinks and soda
water. Traditionally, the carbonation in beer and sparkling wine comes
about through natural fermentation, but some manufacturers carbonate
these beverages artificially using carbon dioxide.
Liquid and solid carbon dioxide are important refrigerants,
especially in the food industry, where they are employed during the
transportation and storage of frozen foods, and in the medical field,
where they are used for transportation and preservation of laboratory
specimens.
In medicine, up to 5% of carbon dioxide is added to pure oxygen used
in medicine for stimulation of breathing after apnea and to stabilize
the O2/CO2 balance in blood.
Carbon dioxide is often used an inexpensive, non-flammable pressurized
gas, used to inflate life jackets. Steel capsules are also sold
as supplies of compressed gas for airguns, paintball markets and for
making seltzer. Carbon dioxide extinguishes flames, and some fire
extinguishers, especially those designed for electrical fires, contain
liquid carbon dioxide under pressure.
Liquid carbon dioxide is a good solvent for many organic compounds,
and is used to remove caffeine from coffee. It has begun to attract
attention in the pharmaceutical and other chemical processing
industries as a less toxic alternative to more traditional solvents
such as organocholorides. Carbon dioxide is used as a medium in a
common type of industrial gas laser known as the carbon dioxide laser.
Greenhouses may enrich their atmospheres with additional CO2 to
boost plant growth while eliminating pests such as whitefly, spider
mites and others. Proposals have been made that carbon dioxide from
power generation could be added into ponds to grow algae that could
then be converted into biodiesel fuel.
Dry ice is used in cleaning:
shooting tiny dry ice pellets at a surface cools the dirt and causes it
to pop off. This technique is rapidly becoming popular for cleaning
printing presses, since the dirt and print matter falls to the ground
and can easily be disposed, while there is no solvent, cleaner or water
residue to affect the equipment as the dry ice pellets completely
dissolve into the atmosphere.
Dry ice is used in theaters to produce fog
as a special effect. It is commonly injected into or adjacent
to producing oil wells to act as a pressurizing agent. When
dissolved into the underground crude oil, the carbon dioxide will
significantly reduce the viscosity of the oil enabling the oil to flow
more rapidly through the earch to the removal well. In mature oil
fields, extensive pipe networks are used to carry the carbon dioxide to
the injection points.
Oceans balance the CO2 in the atmosphere
The Earth’s oceans contain a huge amount of carbon dioxide in the
form of bicarbonate and carbonate ions—much more than the amount in the
atmosphere. The bicarbonate is produced in reactions between rock,
water, and carbon dioxide. One example is the dissolution of calcium
carbonate:
CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O Ca2+ + 2 HCO3-
These reactions tend to buffer changes in atmospheric CO2. Reactions
between carbon dioxide and non-carbonate rocks also add bicarbonate to
the seas, which can undergo the reverse of the above reaction to form
carbonate rocks, releasing half of the bicarbonate as CO2. Over
hundreds of millions of years this has produced huge quantities of
carbonate rocks. If all the carbonate rocks in the Earth’s crust were
converted back into carbon dioxide, the resulting carbon dioxide would
weigh 40 times as much as the rest of the atmosphere.
The vast majority of CO2 added to the atmosphere will eventually be
absorbed by the oceans and become bicarbonate ion, but the process
takes on the order of a hundred years because most seawater rarely
comes near the surface.
