In what has been described as the “worst supply situation to hit the European carbon dioxide (CO2) business in decades”, many consumers of CO2 – especially the carbonated drinks producers – are desperate for supplies of the product.
While the supply position tightened in April, driven by the “usual” turnaround of maintenance procedures in ammonia plants, the position started to become critical when other plants associated with bio-ethanol and chemical production were also shut down for maintenance or for technical issues.
All major suppliers of liquid CO2 have been affected by the raw gas sourcing issues – including Praxair, Messer, Linde and Air Liquide. Even ACP (recently acquired by Air Products) has been impacted by the downturn in CO2 output.
It appears that most of Northern and Continental Europe are struggling for product at this time – the position becoming worse just this weekend when two large and important plants went offline.
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