Q&A for How to Make Dry Ice

No, it requires special equipment to reach the temperature needed.

Get some ice, ice cream salt, zip lock, and some heavy cream. Put some heavy cream in a small zip lock bag. Get a bigger zip lock bag, and put some ice and the ice cream salt in there. After that, put the zip lock bag with the heavy cream into the zip lock bag with the ice and ice cream salt. Shake it for about 20 minutes. Get your ice cream out of the zip lock bag and enjoy your ice cream.

Yes, if you can get your hands on any source of pressurized carbon dioxide, such as a soda machine.

You don't need matches in order to make dry ice. Matches produce heat, which then makes the dry ice sublimate faster.

No, you need this in order to make dry ice.

Yes, if you can get any of the other materials that are listed.

Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide (CO2). It can be dangerous to mix vinegar and CO2, so it's best not to try.

No, it will not work to make it in the microwave.

No, it cannot. The fertilizer is not pressurized or even nearly as cold as it would need to be.

You can read the article above to answer your question.

Dry ice is the solid form of CO2, therefore it seems very unlikely that you could form dry ice without the use of its most basic component.

No. CO2 in a tank is pressurized. There is great risk of breaking the nozzle off a pressurized tank when the tank is not properly secured. When the nozzle breaks off on a pressurized cylinder, it behaves quite a lot like a torpedo, exerting enough force to take down cinder block walls, regular walls, cars, pets, kids, etc. It's not a good scenario.

Dry ice is composed of carbon dioxide while hot ice is composed of sodium acetate. It's interesting to note that sodium acetate is formed by combining baking soda and white vinegar, and in the process of forming sodium acetate, carbon dioxide is formed as a by-product.

Probably about 5-8 fire extinguishers, because only one extinguisher only makes a little bit of ice. It also depends how wide and long the block is going to be.

Sublimation is the name of the phase transition from solid to gas, skipping the liquid phase.

No, because the ice would take all the oxygen out of the plant's space. Not to mention there'd be no oxygen for you to breathe either, so this would be very unsafe. Please don't try it!

It varies. The extreme cold of dry ice can cause materials to shrink, warp, or become brittle, and there might be an effect from the carbon dioxide itself. Some plastics will deform or crystallize from exposure to extreme cold, but others won't be affected at all. Extreme temperature changes can cause textiles like glass and ceramics to shatter, cloth fibers to become brittle, or metals to distemper. It really depends on the textile. Caution is the best approach. Test materials for effects and wear safety equipment.

No, you need the materials in the article if you want to make dry ice.

You can’t, as you can’t make solid CO2 without a pressurized CO2.

Any CO2 out of an extinguisher will be industrial grade, rather than the FDA approved food grade stuff. However, there is not much of a difference. Long story short, you can’t "ensure" it is food grade, but it's probably fine for food use. If you are that bothered, ask your local gas shop for a food grade CO2 cylinder with a dip tube.

There are lots of uses for dry ice, such as to kill pests, keep food col, take out floor tiles, keep drinks cold and make soda, and many more besides. For amusement, do a search for uses online!

Yes, but not the type you'll need. You need compressed CO2, such as a CO2 cylinder or CO2 fire extinguisher, to make dry ice.

Yes. You can use a fabric bag to make dry ice. Just wrap the bag around the hose and squeeze the lever.