Dry ice is pure, solid carbon dioxide (CO2). As a gas, CO2 exists naturally in our environment.
Dry ice keeps items colder for much longer than traditional “wet ice” because dry ice is extremely cold, -109 degrees F (-78.5° C). Dry ice sublimates into carbon dioxide gas instead of melting, leaving no liquid mess to clean up which is why dry ice blasting is a popular and environmentally friendly way to clean.
To manufacture dry ice, gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2) is first pressurized and refrigerated to form liquid CO2, which is allowed to expand in an atmospheric chamber. When CO2 converts from liquid CO2 to gas, there is an extreme drop in temperature. This causes some of the gas to freeze, yielding both snow-like CO2 and vapor CO2. The “snow” is then hydraulically pressed into dry ice blocks and pellets.
The CO2 vapor produced during the production of dry ice is captured and recycled using a recovery system to maximize the yield of dry ice from each pound of liquid CO2. This is the most cost-effective way to produce dry ice, a cost savings we pass on to our dry ice customers.
Pacific Dry Ice produces dry ice in the following forms:
High Density Dry Ice Pellets
BioCut
Dry Ice Standard Pellets
Slabs of Dry Ice
Block of Dry Ice
