Use Seen For Kapuni Gas By-product

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31763, 21 August 1968, Page 14

Use Seen For Kapuni Gas By-product

Carbon dioxide gas trapped beneath the rocks of Taranaki for millions of years, may provide the bubbles for New Zealand’s soft drink industry.

“The natural gas which will be produced, at Kapuni is unusual in that it contains more than 40 per cent carbon dioxide,” said Mr A. G. Summers, chief executive officer of the Natural Gas Corporation.

“To make the gas suitable for use as a fuel this carbon dioxide will have to be removed in a treatment plant. This plant is to be built for the corporation at Kapuni if sufficient response is attracted by its call for tenders for the purchase of liquid carbon, dioxide.

“The waste gas from this plan will consist almost Entirely of carbon dioxide and will provide a rich source for the production of this useful gas,” he said. New Zealand uses between 5000 and 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year and Mr Summers says Kapuni could supply many times this quantity. Carbon dioxide has a variety of uses. It is the gas which produces the effervescence in soft drinks.

As a liquid it used to fill fire extinguishers and in its solid form, “dry ice,” it has a large potential as a cooling agent in such industries as the processing and transport of perishables. “Dry ice” has the advantage over ordinary ice in that it leaves no pools of water, evaporating in air without melting. Liquid carbon dioxide could be transported- from Kapuni by road tankers and rail tankers to depots where bulk users could take delivery. Smaller quantities could also be supplied in cylinders. Most of the present supply of liquid carbon dioxide comes from a process involving the burning of oil, but a lot of impurities result and these have to be removed. The supply from natural gas sources is purer. Liquid petroleum gas would be another by-product of Kapuni but this again would require a plant for its recovery. It can be used as a fuel in any gas appliance, and as a fuel for buses, myskonfl