where can i get Dry Ice?

[bebbyboo12]

Well, i am doing a science project and need some dry ice to make a cake volcano erupt i only need a small amount,i live near birmingham?

[Pigletion]

if it's for school/college, they could get it for you. They probably have s aupplier for such things. Would also mean you could pick it up just before you need it, otherwise it will sublimate and disappear.

I used to use it in the lab at Uni, but it was always in short supply, as it can't efficiently be stored. You need a well insulated chest/box and also proper gloves for handling it and special containers for carrying it in - it's so cold that it causes most containers to break/go brittle and therefore lose their structural integrity.

http://www.allaboutice.com/dry-ice/dry_ice-pro ducts.html

Or maybe ask nicely at Birmingham Uni? Or other lab in area

[theprof]

We use around a tonne of dry ice weekly in my university laboratories, so I know a thing or two about this.

First of all, as long as the school/college obtains the dry ice for you to use on the premises, this might well be a possible source. However, taking dry ice off the premises for your own use would contravene Health & Safety regulations and they risk being fined a substantial sum if they allow this to happen. Any H&S committee that's up to its job will have protocols in place to prevent the use of their dry ice off the premises.

We use BOC Industrial as our supplier and they wouldn't be interested in supplying a small quantity of dry ice even if you met their strict supply criteria.

However, I do know of students who've sometimes had to source dry ice from elsewhere for various reasons. Take a look at :

http://ind.yara.co.uk/cgi-bin/hgc-local-uk/pri nter_friendly.cgi?file=/en/products_services/p roducts/dry_ice.html

Apart from that, you could try to find a commercial or industrial cold storage facility in your area as they sometimes use dry ice. Another possibility if you know someone that lives near the East coast is a dockside fish processing facility - I advised on a project at one such place that used tonnes of dry ice a few years ago.

[Pigletion]

I completely agree with the above.

I, perhaps wrongly, assumed you were the teacher (or other responsible adult), as I don't know how a student would get hold of it due to the health and safety implications.

[BillyBB]

If you get a black carbon dioxide fire extinguisher and blast it into a cloth bag some dry ice will form due to the pressure drop reducing the temperature.
Use something like an old jeans leg stitched at the bottom.

[BillyBB]

PS apart from not touching the bag or 'ice' please don't touch the nozzle or tube either.

[solera]

If you try BILLIe bb system apart from the danger of a cold burn if it gets near your skin you have the problem of pressure 51BAR at 15 degrees 744 psi in old money and don't drop it when you hear the noise,

[20SilkCut]

As above posters said...contact your local University and especially someone in the Laboratories, esp. Microbiology / Pathology labs etc. The lab manager may agree to your science teacher getting a small amount for you to do your project. However you should ask about , and be aware of the Health and Safety issues. Its not something to be messed with, as others have said. Special gloves are needed to handle the containers it comes in. Be careful.