Praxair Starts Up CO2 Facility in Chatham, Ontario

Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.), the world's largest supplier of carbon dioxide, has announced the start-up of a new carbon dioxide production facility in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. The plant produces up to 358 tons per day of carbon dioxide for use by customers in Ontario, Quebec and the eastern United States.

The new plant recovers and purifies carbon dioxide (CO2) produced as a by-product of the ethyl alcohol (ethanol) production process at the nearby Commercial Alcohols Inc. ethanol plant.

The additional carbon dioxide will help Praxair meet increased demand by customers in Ontario and provide backup for other regions. Carbon dioxide is used to carbonate beverages and to chill, freeze and package seafood, meat, poultry, baked goods, fruits and vegetables, and to extend the shelf-life of dairy products.

Based in Brampton, Ontario, Commercial Alcohols Inc. is the largest producer of ethanol in Canada with plants in Chatham and Tiverton, Ontario. The company also distributes alcohol throughout North America, Eastern Europe and other parts of the world.

Praxair, one of the largest industrial gases companies worldwide, produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings.

Edited by Pam Ahlberg