So apparently there is a national shortage of CO2 for fizzy drinks.
How the hell does this work?!
Should we breathing out more?!
Britain’s carbon dioxide shortage has been caused by an unusually high number of closures of the factories which produce
the gas as a by-product of the fertiliser industry.
The process of manufacturing ammonia releases vast amounts of CO2, which is captured and sold commercially and on which
the food and drinks industry depends.
But because farmers need little fertiliser over the summer, ammonia plants often close down for essential maintenance,
and the current crisis has been caused by too many plants shutting at the same time across Europe.
At least five producers in northern Europe are reportedly in closed due to a combination of technical failures and planned repairs.
The UK is the worst hit country - only one of its plants is currently operational. The gas is difficult and expensive to import,
meaning food and drink producers tend to depend on local suppliers.
The high price of natural gas, which is a key raw material in ammonia production, has also had a knock-on effect in limiting
production in Europe.
At the same time, a fall in global ammonia prices means the British fertiliser industry has increasingly found it cheaper to source
ammonia from abroad than to produce it in the UK.
A spokesman for the British Beer and Pubs Association said the shortage is worse than in previous years because it affects
mainland Europe in addition to the UK.
The spokesman said: “Supply issues here in the UK are being further complicated by a combination of planned plant shutdowns and unexpected equipment failure, in particular in connection with one of the two major national producers of bulk CO2.”
At the same time, the demand for soft drinks and alcohol has increased with the hot weather.
Sounds like nonsense to me. More to this than meets the eye.
I blame cyclists.
Not only are all those lycra-clad MAMiL's clogging up the roads, jumping red lights and riding on the pavement they're all doing that with a couple of CO2 canisters in their back pocket.
I find it interesting and slightly ironic that humanity is having such issues overcoming CO2 pollution, yet at the same time we are currently enduring a CO2 shortage.
If only some clever person could find a way to harness CO2 pollution from energy & industry and recycle it.
Nope; it’s my fault. I’ve recently bought a SodaStream and have two spare canisters in the pantry. Sorry.
SodaStream! Good god, are they still around? I thought they went out of fashion/existence c.1979 along with Watney’s Red Barrel, Tuppaware, Party 7 and Babycham.
Shows how many fizzy alcoholic drinks are artificially fizzed rather than relying on natural fizz from the fermentation process.
Just carry solpadine with you and drop one of those bad boys in your flat beer.
Also pre treats your hangover.
.
.
.
.
.
Actually, don't do this as it will really **** up your liver.
Not all Draught beer some real ale depending on the dispense system don’tIn pubs all draught beer/lager/cider requires CO2 to get the liquid from the keg to your glass.