Dry Ice For Co2

[maximinimus]

Mr Bliss

Have you maybe just found a more effective way than the ancient yeast method? Maybe?
Lets us know how the test results go?

I dont think so:
It would require far more frequent maintenance (i.e hours rather than weeks).
You would need a high pressure canister because the reaction is so fast.
It would be far too expensive when you add up all the acid and baking soda.

A more stable system if you wanted a chemical alternative would be to use the same acid (i.e. vinegar) and add some limestone.
This would bubble away for days before it needs maintenance but would suffer from similar problems as yeast with diminished results giving fluctuating CO2 levels

 

[des22]

maximinimus

Have you tried the viniger limestone method? Its sounds like it could work as well.
EDIT: is there anything else one could use instead of limestone?

 

[Mr Bliss]

I dont think so:
It would require far more frequent maintenance (i.e hours rather than weeks).
You would need a high pressure canister because the reaction is so fast.
It would be far too expensive when you add up all the acid and baking soda.

Dunno about the cost, as I have no idea how much bulk quantities of citric acid cost, but the baking soda wouldn't be all that expensive. The amount of acid+bicarb required would be roughly equal (~16% less assuming everything works optimally) to the amount of sugar consumed by a perfect yeast reactor. The speed of the reaction would be a problem, because we'd need to use low concentrations (and therefore big containers) in connection with adjustable drip valves, resulting in a big and unwieldy system. Like I said it would require a steady dosing system to mix the acid and the bicarbonate.

Some kind of a dry reagent dispenser, capable of dispensing a roughly 57:43 mix of powdered bicarbonate and citric acid at a very steady rate, would probably make this worthwhile, since then you'd only need a relatively small reaction chamber and the dispenser unit, but I have a feeling such a dispenser that wouldn't get clogged over time would be pretty difficult and/or expensive to get.