Dry ice is used by various operations throughout the food industry. From producers to distributors, they use it as a cooling medium to prevent food spoilage throughout production and during delivery to the end consumer. But what is the right dry ice format for your operation?
Like water ice, dry ice (consisting of recycled carbon dioxide in solid form) can be shaped as required by the application. The most common formats to be found in the market are:
- 3mm pellets
- Nuggets of 6mm, 10mm, 13mm, 16mm, 19mm
- Slices of [10″ x 5″ x 2.5″], [8″ x 5″ x 2.5″], [6″ x 6″ x 3.5″], [5″ x 5″ x 2″], [5″ x 4″ x 2″], [5.4″ x 2.4″ x 2.5″]
Companies using dry ice for home food delivery have followed the lead of airlines, using slices such as the colloquially known “airline catering slice” [5” x 5” x 2”]. The reasoning behind this is that in an open situation a pound of sliced dry ice has a smaller surface area than a pound of dry ice pellets or nuggets. Therefore, the slice sublimates more slowly than the pellets or nuggets.
However, by producing systems that make truly high-density nuggets, we have mitigated the sublimation differences between slices and nuggets. Cold Jet has changed the game and we have seen a number of online platforms, both e-commerce and grocery delivery, moving more toward bagged nuggets because of their ability to nest inside the boxes.
Reach out to us to find out which applications fit better to your business model.
You already use dry ice for your food delivery operations. Is it worth buying an on-site production system?
Installing a dry ice production system allows you to take control of your dry ice supply. One of the main reasons Cold Jet customers have done this is because they do not want to be at the mercy of a third party for the availability and price of their primary cooling medium for their home deliveries.
Cold Jet’s dry ice production equipment is designed to make the operator experience as user-friendly as possible. “Many times, I’ve run into people who are surprised at how easy it is to operate,” the Director of E-Commerce and Fulfilment at one of our customers told us. “You don’t need to work for Nasa to operate the system, and that’s something we value highly.”
Contact us and one of our business consultants will generate a no-cost ROI to determine if it makes financial sense to have your own dry ice production system.
Contact us today to receive a no-cost ROI analysis for producing dry ice in-house.
Do your dry ice needs go beyond bulk production? Our engineered systems fit your needs and your space.
Slice Reformer & Flow Packing Systems: an ideal solution for dry ice pellet businesses that want to diversify dry ice production capabilities by adding slice and mini-block dry ice to their product range.
Automated Dosing & Bagging Systems: allows operators to easily and confidently prepare dry ice packages with accuracy.
Integrated Dosing Line: ensuring each parcel is packed with the proper amount of dry ice to maintain subzero temperatures is critical for product viability and reduction of waste.
Like water ice, dry ice (consisting of recycled carbon dioxide in solid form) can be shaped as required by the application.