On recycling CO₂

Carbon dioxide, or CO₂, is one of the gases occurring naturally in our atmosphere and is uniformly distributed over the earth's surface. A major component of the carbon cycle, it is also a greenhouse gas (GHG) whose concentration is increasing due to human activity. The Kyoto Treaty, ratified by 54 nations in 1997, calls for "a substantial worldwide reduction of greenhouse gases".

As a result of the worldwide consumption of fossil fuels, the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere has increased over the past century and continues to rise. Major changes in global climate could result from a continued increase in CO₂ concentration.

Capturing and recycling the CO₂ produced in industry is an important way of avoiding global warming. The greater the amount of CO₂ that can be recycled, the less is released to increase its concentration in the atmosphere. Most commercial CO₂ is recovered as a by-product of other processes, in Yara’s case as a by-product of our fertilizer manufacture. It is recognized as a clean technology in several segments of our daily lives.

What uses does CO₂ have?

CO₂ is now an essential product in the food industry. It is used throughout the food 'cold chain' to ensure quality, freshness and food safety. CO₂ is a fundamental ingredient of all carbonated beverages such as beer, soft drinks and mineral waters. Not only does it provide the characteristic effervescence preferred by consumers, but also enhances flavour and extends shelf life. CO₂ is also used for rapid cooling of food to improve its quality and shelf life, and in packing perishable foodstuffs to inhibit the development of bacteria and mould. Liquid carbon dioxide (LIC) or carbon dioxide gas is used to maintain a stable low temperature during processing, transportation and storage of food. Together with Thermo King, Yara has developed Silenci, an innovative dispensing solution for cold transport, based on cryogenic technology which runs on LIC recovered from industrial processes, it lowers CO₂ emissions by 30 percent and noise levels by 95 percent compared with conventional refrigerated systems

CO₂ has many uses beyond the food industry. It is used for balancing the pH in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants as well as for the processing of pulp and water in the pulp and paper industry.

With lower net emissions, CO₂ is used to replace other more harmful chemicals. It is used in the form of pellets of dry ice for surface cleaning and including on airport runways. Dry ice is not as hard as sand, but it produces much less lung-damaging dust. Also for the cleaning and recovery of lubricants and industrial waste, and in dry-cleaning of textiles. It is also used as a refrigerant in air-conditioning systems for industry, homes and cars.

Potential uses of CO₂ are being developed in the health industry.

Yara’s CO₂ products

Yara has become one of the main suppliers in the European CO₂ market by recovering CO₂ from our ammonia plants in Porsgrunn (Norway), Sluiskil (The Netherlands) and Ferrara (Italy). We are recognized for our consistently high-quality CO₂, most of which we supply to the food and drinks industry. We are also the only European company with a full-fledged CO₂ delivery  system, which includes marine transportation and terminal operations with a unique fleet of three ships. Yara CO₂ can be delivered by lorry to customers either in liquid form for large-scale users, as gas in cylinders for small-scale users, or in solid form as dry ice.