Egg Prices and Carbon Dioxide
What about the chickens?
Weight is mostly lost through our breath as Carbon Dioxide - CO₂.
While it is common knowledge that our bodies store energy in the form of fat, what is less known is that we exhale fat in the form of CO₂. As Dr. Sylvia Tara explains in "The Secret Life of Fat," the more fat used to convert into energy, the more CO₂ waiting in our lungs to be expelled by our breath.
Over 80% of our metabolized fat is removed from our body this way.
The Science Behind the Molecule
CO₂’s makeup is simple: one carbon atom connected to two oxygen atoms via double covalent bonds. Covalent bonds are just shared electrons between atoms and create stable molecular structures.
Remove one oxygen atom and you have the deadly Carbon Monoxide (CO).
What makes CO deadly is it eagerly it bonds to hemoglobin in our blood, preventing oxygen transport.
Add an oxygen atom to CO₂ and you get the very unstable Carbon Trioxide (CO₃), typically found in stable form in minerals and salts such as limestone (CaCO₃) and sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃).
CO₂ is a byproduct of our body's metabolic process known as the Krebs cycle (also known as the Citric Acid Cycle). Like a cellular-version of a electrical power plant, our metabolism breaks down nutrients and fat to produce ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the energy currency of cells. One "turn" of this cycle produces two CO₂ molecules that are deposited in our lungs waiting for exhalation. The rest turns into water.
Here’s a link to Khan Academy’s excellent video detailing the cycle
CO₂ is More Than Just Hot Air
Carbonated Beverages
If you didn't know, carbonated beverages exist because of CO₂. At bottling facilities, purified CO₂ is cooled and pressurized until it liquefies at around 875 psi and -40°F. This liquid CO₂ is precisely metered into chilled water, forming carbonic acid (H₂CO₃). Premium sparkling waters might contain 3.5 volumes of CO₂, while soft drinks typically range from 2 to 4 volumes.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
EOR, which is not hydraulic fracturing (fracking), leverages CO₂'s unique weight properties; CO₂ is heavier than the air we breath.
When extracting oil, high-pressure "supercritical" CO₂ (a state between liquid and gas) is injected into oil wells. It lowers the oil's viscosity while creating a layer between the water below and air above, helping push more oil out of the reservoir rock.
Dry Ice Production
CO₂ liquifies at 300 psi. When it is then expanded through small holes into a large chamber, 46% flashes into gas while the remainder freezes into snow-like particles at -109°F. This "snow" is compressed under 60 tons of pressure per square inch into dense blocks or pellets. Modern facilities can produce up to 120 tons of dry ice per day.
When Breathable Air is the Bad Guy
CO₂ is a good molecule for displacing oxygen (O₂):
Keeping produce fresh for months in controlled atmospheric storage facilities that have exacting gas mixtures
Fire suppression systems when in the event of a fire, you don’t want to destroy additional sensitive electronic equipment with water — useful for data centers.
Decaffeination of coffee beans through supercritical fluid extraction — honestly, why is decaf still a thing?
Nature's Carbon Processors
Plants and fungi have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to utilize CO₂. Higher CO₂ levels boost plant growth through enhanced photosynthesis and improved water efficiency. Fungi form complex networks with plants, benefiting from increased carbon flow in these symbiotic relationships.
In our oceans, phytoplankton act as nature's carbon processing plants, converting CO₂ into energy and biomass. These microscopic organisms support entire marine ecosystems while playing a crucial role in global carbon cycles.
The Poultry Industry
We're abundantly aware of soaring egg prices due to bird-flu outbreaks affecting the poultry industry. In 2022, there were 308 million egg-laying chickens in the United States, a 5% infection rate means there are a minimum of 15 million infected birds that must be humanely euthanized to prevent spread.
CO₂ has a harmful and life-threatening side that has provided a solution.
Being heavier than air and not bonding with hemoglobin, CO₂ provides an efficient method for humane euthanasia. The procedure doesn't require complex airtight chambers and all the logistics therein. Just a barrier to hold the CO₂ molecules above the heads of chickens. The molecules higher density means it naturally sinks and displaces air in controlled facilities where anything below the curtain-like barrier asphyxiates.
