Once again, there is a shortage of CO₂ and it seems that the shortage is everywhere, which leaves many industries with issues to overcome.

At the least, it means fighting for something that normally is readily available. At most, you risk losing a degree of production that you are perfectly set up to achieve.

Adding to these issues, you are probably facing a hike in surcharges for the CO₂ gas you can get a hold of, which makes managing your costs very difficult and unpredictable.

So, if getting hold of CO₂ gas is proving difficult and you are looking for ways to gain a little more control over your processes. Or, if you want to have some flexibility with the rate of CO₂ you do use, there are a couple of things you can consider.

You might consider checking the amount of CO₂ you are using, to make sure that you are not overusing what you have or using more than you need too. BSL offer a range of CO₂ measuring devices, CO₂ analysers which use various technologies; Ultrasonic, Single Wavelength Infra-Red, Dual Wavelength Infra-Red.

If you are putting CO₂ into gas cylinders with other gases, we have Gas Analysers that can measure the final CO₂ content in a mixed gas cylinder after filling and settling.

If you are mixing CO₂ with other gases, on your site with a Gas Mixer, we have Analysers that will enable you to check on the final mixture of gas.

We have handheld systems, wall mounted systems, systems that give you a 4 to 20 mA signal for data capture purposes and systems to measure final mixed gas composition in food packs.

We can also help you with your Gas Mixers too. BSL provide both Pre-set and Adjustable Gas Mixers. You might want to consider if the gas mixer you have needs the amount of CO₂ you are currently using. Or could your process be just as effective by reducing the CO₂ a little?

A number of our customers have come to this exact conclusion. They have found that they are using a higher CO₂ amount in their mixed gas than they need for their process to be effective.

Some have simply asked us to reduce the CO₂ content in our pre-set systems to something they can still live with but may reduce their CO₂ consumption significantly.  Taking a 30% CO₂ in Nitrogen for food packing down to 25% for example.  It doesn’t sound like a huge change and may have no impact on the efficiency of the process.  But it could save a lot of money and worry for the CO₂ gas supply.

Some customers have asked us to fit a new Adjustable Gas Mixer in place of their existing pre-set Gas Mixer, so that they can adjust the levels up and down, not for the process or application itself, but to align with the gases they can readily get at any given time.  And in combination with a Gas Analyser, it will help them record what mixed gas concentration they have had historically at any time. This can then be linked to the batches they are producing for traceability.

There are some applications and customers who are particularly interested in gas leaks. CO₂ leaks are of course dangerous, especially in small and enclosed spaces.  Some are interested in a simple system to be able to determine where they have leaks and the size of those leaks too. 

A Pub Cellar is a great example of this as a leak of CO₂ and Nitrogen is potentially dangerous to staff. So, by conserving gases, it will save you money and reduce hazards.

Another example is a welding gas line, which may contain a mixture of CO₂ and Argon. Being able to simply check for a leak and have some idea of how big it is, could save on gases and a lot of unnecessary expense.

If any of these ideas fit with what you have been thinking, please feel free to contact us and see if we can help make this situation easier.

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