BOC has been busy helping the fastest men on wheels keep their cool at the 2013 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, which was held in Melbourne earlier this month.
BOC, a member of the Linde Group, deployed its state of the art dry ice technology track-side to keep the drivers and their machines from overheating in the pressure-cooker environment of Formula 1 racing.
The ICEBITZZZ ICE3 mobile dry ice production unit is used to produce the highest-quality dry ice (solid CO?) pellets on site for applications including cooling the air intakes of car engines to reduce operating temperatures and the risk of blowouts.
Packed into helmets, clothing and boots, dry ice is also a common method of keeping Formula 1 drivers from overheating and losing performance.
Depending on the pressure and temperature, carbon dioxide (CO2) can occur in three states: gaseous, liquid, or solid. Dry ice is CO2 in its solid state.
It is made by reducing the pressure and temperature of liquid CO2 in a controlled manner; this causes it to convert into a clean, white CO2 snow.
This snow can be used as is, or it can be compressed under high pressure to form blocks, slices, pellets or nuggets.
Utilising bulk-delivered CO2 and a BOC-supplied pelletiser and patented CO2 recovery unit, the ICEBITZZZ ICE3 can produce fresh dry ice on demand.
