About dry ice
Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2)—a gas that occurs naturally in the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the gas we exhale when we breathe and the gas plants use in photosynthesis.
Dry ice is extremely cold at -109.3°F, so it does not melt like regular ice. Instead, it turns directly from a solid to a gas—a process called sublimation.
Dry Ice is widely used because it is simple to freeze and easy to handle using insulated gloves. Since it does not leave a liquid residue and is extremely cold, dry ice is ideal for keeping items frozen; it is commonly used as a refrigerant to ship frozen food or medical products or to cool materials used for industrial processes.
The other major use of dry ice is for dry ice blast cleaning—an effective and environmentally friendly way to clean industrial equipment.
View more dry ice uses and get more dry ice info here.
Facts about dry ice
| Property | Value |
| Formula | CO2 |
| Molecular Weight | 44.01 |
| Appearance | Colorless gas; colorless liquid; white opaque solid |
| Density Solid (Dry Ice) | 97.5189 lb./ft.3 at -109.3° F |
| Density Liquid | 63.69 lb./ft.3 at 0° F |
| Density Gas | 0.1234 lb./ft.3 at 32° F |
| Melting Point | -69.9° F, 75.1 PSIA |
| Boiling Point | -109.3° F (Sublimes) |
| Triple Point | -69.9° F, 75.1 PSIA |
| Critical Temperature | 87.8° F |
| Critical Pressure | 1069.4 PSIA |
| Critical Density | 28.9519 lb./ft.3 |
| Specific Heat Gas | 0.1989 BTU/lb. ° F (60° F) |
| Specific Heat Liquid | 0.53 BTU/lb. ° F (0° F) |
| Ratio of Heat Capacities | 1.3 |
| Latent Heat of Fusion (Triple Point) | 85 BTU/lb. (69.9° F) |
| Latent Heat of Vaporization (Liquiflow) | 122 BTU/lb. (0° F) |
| Latent Heat of Sublimation (Dry Ice) | 246 BTU/lb. (-110° F) |
| Viscosity Gas | 0.015 Centipoises (32° F) |
| Viscosity Liquid | 0.14 Centipoises (0° F) |
| Thermal Conductivity Gas | 0.0085 BTU ft./ft.2 ° F Hr. (32° F) |
| Thermal Conductivity Liquid | 0.11 BTU ft./ft.2 ° F Hr. (0° F) |
| Surface Tension (Liquid) | 8.23 Dynes/cm (0° F) |
| Solubility in H2O | 1.79 ft.3 CO2 Gas/ft.3 H2O(32° F) |
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