06-01-2014

Air Products increases U.S. Midwest liquid CO2 supply

Air Products, one of the leading suppliers of liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) in the United States, today announced the signing of a long-term agreement for the production of liquid CO2 with Big River Resources Boyceville, LLC; based out of Boyceville, Wisconsin. Air Products will operate a facility to produce 250 tons per day (tpd) of liquid CO2 at Big River Resources’ established ethanol plant in Boyceville, Wisconsin. Air Products will market food and beverage-grade liquid CO2 from the plant, which is expected to begin production in early 2014.

“This Boyceville project with Big River strengthens our position in the Upper Midwest with both existing and new customers,” said Joe Lamack, CO2 general manager - North America Merchant Gases at Air Products. “We are excited to be working with a company like Big River that understands supply reliability to industrial customers.”

“This is our first foray into working with a CO2 company at any of our ethanol plants and we are very happy to begin this collaboration with Air Products,” said Jim Leiting, chief operating officer at Big River Resources, LLC.

Air Products has 13 liquid CO2 production plants in the U.S., and had recently announced another planned liquid CO2 agreement and facility with 400 tpd of production in Iowa. In June, Air Products expanded its portfolio of industrial gases offerings in North America by acquiring EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products, Inc. of Monroe, Louisiana. The acquisition immediately vaulted Air Products to a position amongst the leaders in the North American liquid CO2 market and also made Air Products a more fully-integrated supplier of bulk industrial gases by increasing its competitive offering.

Liquid CO2, which Air Products already offers in its other geographic regions around the world, is an important product in markets Air Products currently serves with other merchant industrial gases including for food, beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, oilfield services, and metals fabrication applications.