using dry ice to force carbonate
james wygralak
One of my favorite halloween party favors has always been a chunk of
dry ice in my glass of punch. Neat special effect, having a glass full
of bubbling, smoking liquid to drink from.
Whatzis gotta do with wine and/or beer making you ask?
Well, all beer makers (at least I dont know anyone who likes flat beer)
and some winemakers are interested in carbonation.
I've noticed that my dry ice trick tends to carbonate whatever
beverage I happen to use it in, hence my idea.
It seems to me that it should be possible to force carbonate by tossing
a *SMALL* chunk of dry ice into each bottle just before capping/corking.
The trick is to figure out just how small the chunk needs to be so as
not to create a grenade. (see rec.pyrotechnics for endless discussion of
dry ice bombs)
Someone out there with some knowledge of chemistry oughta be able to
calculate how much co2 it takes to carbonate a given volume of liquid.
Comments, suggestions, or reasonable explanations of why I'm completely
crocked will happily accepted.
Flames will be dutifully ignored.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Wygralak |
da...@chinet.chinet.com | This space for rent.
DoD #0651 '74 Honda CL360 "George" |
arne thormodsen
> Comments, suggestions, or reasonable explanations of why I'm completely
> crocked will happily accepted.
> Flames will be dutifully ignored.
Most commercial dry ice has oil, dirt and bits of paper in it. If I
were going to try this I'd make my own dry ice using a CO2 cylinder and
a dry-ice maker (really just a canvas bag to catch the "snow"). Of
course if you have a CO2 tank you probably have better ideas of how to
use it for carbonation :-)
Seriously, I'd be too afraid of contaminating or flavoring the wine,
beer or whatever unless I was sure of a supply of very clean dry ice. I
used a lot of dry ice in grad school and was suprised at the crud left
behind as the ice sublimed away. Bits of the thin wax paper used to
separate blocks of the stuff seemed real common. Once for kicks I
carbonated water using dry ice (in a pressure relief vessel, so I don't
know how much ice would really be needed). The result looked and
smelled (I didn't taste) of machine oil.
--arne
JAMES RICHARDSON BURTS
high sugar levels, so I was thinking that I would try my hand at making a
honey mead with them. Unfortunately, I have never paid much attention to
the recipes for mead (I have only done beer so far...)
Any suggestions, tips, or pointers to information would be greatly apprecitated.
Thanks
--James--
jrb...@eos.ncsu.edu
Doug S. Caprette
>james wygralak (da...@chinet.chinet.com) wrote:
>
>
>> Comments, suggestions, or reasonable explanations of why I'm completely
>> crocked will happily accepted.
>> Flames will be dutifully ignored.
>
>Most commercial dry ice has oil, dirt and bits of paper in it. If I
>were going to try this I'd make my own dry ice using a CO2 cylinder and
>a dry-ice maker (really just a canvas bag to catch the "snow"). Of
>course if you have a CO2 tank you probably have better ideas of how to
>use it for carbonation :-)
>
BTW,
Your homemade dry ice is also likely to have compressor oil and otheri
contaminants in it unless you have specifically bought food grade CO2
sold for carbonation purposes.
d...@gemini.gsfc.nasa.gov
| Regards, | Hughes STX | Code 926.9 GSFC |
| Doug Caprette | Lanham, Maryland | Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A path is laid one stone at a time" -- The Giant in "Twin Peaks"
David Houston
>
> stuff deleted.
>
> It seems to me that it should be possible to force carbonate by tossing
> a *SMALL* chunk of dry ice into each bottle just before capping/corking.
> The trick is to figure out just how small the chunk needs to be so as
> not to create a grenade. (see rec.pyrotechnics for endless discussion of
> dry ice bombs)
>
A problem with this plan is that the dry ice will vaporize much faster than the
carbon dioxide can get into solution in the wine/beer. Therefore the pressure
will rise to *very* high levels, due to the small headspace in the bottle, and
the bottle will very probably explode.
There is another way to acomplish the same goal, but it's more prosaic.
I have seen for sale a device like a bottle stopper with a tube through it. The
tube is connected to a hose which goes to a CO2 cylinder. The CO2 regulator
pressure is set to maybe 30-60 psi. The device is put on the mouth of a bottle
full of wine and pressurized with the CO2. Over a period of (hours, days?) and
maybe with some shaking to help the process along, the wine/beer will be
carbonated. Then the carbonator is quickly removed and replaced with a
traditional bottle cap. Instant carbonation, without all the fuss of yeast,
sediment, etc.
Vending machines that dispense soda into cups have a way of making instant
carbonated water. They use tap water and somehow inject CO2 into it on the fly
as the water is dispensed. I have always been curious about what the injector
looks like. Presumably the same device could be used for wine. If anyone has
seen such a thing, I would like to hear about it.
MDWI...@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca
>
>> Comments, suggestions, or reasonable explanations of why I'm completely
>> crocked will happily accepted.
>> Flames will be dutifully ignored.
>
>Most commercial dry ice has oil, dirt and bits of paper in it. If I
>were going to try this I'd make my own dry ice using a CO2 cylinder and
>a dry-ice maker (really just a canvas bag to catch the "snow"). Of
>course if you have a CO2 tank you probably have better ideas of how to
>use it for carbonation :-)
>
>Seriously, I'd be too afraid of contaminating or flavoring the wine,
>beer or whatever unless I was sure of a supply of very clean dry ice. I
>used a lot of dry ice in grad school and was suprised at the crud left
>behind as the ice sublimed away. Bits of the thin wax paper used to
>separate blocks of the stuff seemed real common. Once for kicks I
>carbonated water using dry ice (in a pressure relief vessel, so I don't
>know how much ice would really be needed). The result looked and
>smelled (I didn't taste) of machine oil.
>
written by the profit Ted Underhill, has several possible contraptions useable
for carbonating beverages.
I believe one was a high pressure cabinet of sorts which could accomodate up to
four bottles at a go. If anyone out ther is interested, say so and I will re-
read the appropriate testament and site chapter and verse.
Keep tasting!!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Regards,
Mark Williams, EDP Systems Audit, Health
phone (604)-952-2020 fax (604)-952-2049
Cliff Marcellus
[ trimmed ]
>
> Someone out there with some knowledge of chemistry oughta be able to
> calculate how much co2 it takes to carbonate a given volume of liquid.
>
[ trimmed ]
...back in days of old when I was in Q.C. for a major brewing firm,
the target range for the ratio of beer to CO2 was between 2.5 - 3.0
volumes of CO2 (gas) to 1.0 volumes of beer.
From the Handbook of Chemisty and Physics, ((c) CRC Press), the density
for CO2 is :
(gaseous) 1.977 grams/litre (at 6 degrees C)
(solid) 1.56 grams/ml (at -79 degrees C)
Shooting for the middle of the road on the volume ratios above, say 2.75
volumes, and using a standard 500 ml bottle (16 fl.oz.) :
Volume of gaseous CO2 required :
(500 ml) x (2.75) = 1375 ml (1.375 l)
Weight of CO2 (gas) required :
(1.375 l) x (1.977 g/l) = 2.72 g
Volume of CO2 (solid) required :
(2.72 g)
-------- = 1.74 ml
(1.56 g/l)
(Also, 1.0 ml = 0.06 cubic inches.)
Therefore, the required amount of CO2 is :
1.74 millilitres (basically, cubic centimeters) or 0.105 cubic inches.
Cheers!
--
Cliff Marcellus | Internet : cl...@phys.ucalgary.ca
Department of Physics and Astronomy | SPAN : CANCAL::CLIFF
The University of Calgary | Phone : +1 403 220 7193
OPINIONS EXPRESSED WITHIN ARE MY OWN AND NOT THOSE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY