Carbon dioxide has a many commercial and industrial
applications. In liquid and solid form known as dry ice, carbon
dioxide is an important refrigerant, especially in food
industry, where they are used during the transportation and
storage of ice-cream and other frozen foods. Carbon dioxide is
used to produce carbonated soft drinks and soda water.
Carbon dioxide is often used as
an inexpensive, non-flammable pressurized gas. Life jackets often
have canisters of carbon dioxide for quick inflation.
Steel capsules are also sold as
supplies of compressed gas for airguns, paintball markers, and
for making seltzer. Rapid vaporization of liquid CO2
is used for blasting in coal mines.
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.