Brewer’s Guide to CO₂ Recovery - the complete guide to breweries

Why CO₂ Recovery Matters

In recent years, CO₂ recovery has emerged as a smart and sustainable solution for breweries of all sizes. During fermentation, beer naturally produces high-purity, biogenic carbon dioxide. Traditionally, this gas is vented into the atmosphere, and breweries rely on external suppliers for their carbonation and purging needs. With CO₂ recovery, that valuable resource is captured, purified to beverage-grade quality, liquefied, and stored for reuse. It’s a closed loop that improves operational stability, cuts costs, and reduces environmental impact.

For many breweries, the motivation to adopt CO₂ recovery is twofold: security and sustainability. Supply disruptions and price spikes have hit brewers hard in recent years. By recovering their own CO₂ on site, breweries take control of a critical input, ensuring purity and availability at all times. At the same time, recovering CO₂ avoids the emissions associated with industrial production and long-distance transport, directly supporting a brewery’s climate goals.

How the Process Works

The process of a DALUM CO₂ Recovery Plant is elegant and efficient. It begins when fermentation off‑gas is collected from tank ports and directed to a central header. Foam traps and check valves prevent contamination and backflow. The gas is then scrubbed with water to remove unwanted compounds before entering a multi-stage, oil-free compressor. This raises the pressure, allowing for effective drying and further purification. Twin‑tower dehydrators remove residual moisture.

Once purified, the CO₂ is cooled until it condenses into a liquid. A rectifier column strips out non‑condensable gases like oxygen and nitrogen, ensuring beverage-grade purity. Finally, the liquid CO₂ is stored in insulated tanks, ready to be vaporized and used for carbonation, packaging, or even filling cylinders for draft distribution.

Balancing Generation and Demand

When considering whether CO₂ recovery is worth it, it helps to understand the balance between generation and demand. As a general rule, a brewery produces around four kilograms of CO₂ per hectoliter of beer during fermentation, while typical process use requires about three kilograms per hectoliter. In many cases, this means a brewery could meet nearly all its CO₂ needs from its own production, with surplus available for other uses. For example, a 20,000 hL/year brewery could generate roughly 80 tonnes of CO₂ annually. A modest recovery rate of 0.80 would make the brewery able to recover 64 tonnes, while only requiring about 60 tonnes for their production - more than enough to justify recovery.

Ensuring Beverage-Grade Quality

Beverage-grade CO₂ must meet high purity standards, often 99.9% or higher, with oxygen levels in the low parts per million. Equipment in contact with the gas is made from stainless steel or other approved materials, and oil-free compression ensures there is no hydrocarbon contamination. A polishing filter before point-of-use adds an extra layer of protection for the final product.

DALUM’s Craft-Scale Advantage

This is where DALUM Beverage Equipment stands out. Specializing in craft-scale CO₂ recovery plants, DALUM has designed systems that are compact, efficient, and tailored to breweries producing between 1,000 and 200,000 hL annually. Their patented, oil-free three‑stage compressor allows CO₂ to be liquefied using a brewery’s existing glycol or ice‑water system, eliminating the need for additional chillers. With footprints as small as one square meter and noise levels around 70 dB, these plug‑and‑play units are easy to integrate into existing brewery layouts.

DALUM’s systems consistently produce CO₂ at 99.98% purity, exceeding ISBT beverage standards. They also offer remote monitoring, cylinder-filling options, and storage capacities ranging from 100 liters to 50 tonnes, giving breweries the flexibility to match their operational needs.

Economics and ROI

Economically, CO₂ recovery can deliver a return on investment within two to three years, sometimes faster in regions with high CO₂ prices. Savings come from reduced purchases, avoided delivery fees, and fewer production interruptions. Beyond cost, breweries gain the marketing advantage of demonstrating tangible environmental action, with a study from the University of Winnipeg estimating that every kilogram of recovered CO₂ avoids two kilograms of total emissions when factoring in avoided industrial production and transport.

Real-World Success Stories

Craft breweries like Russian River Brewing, Camba Bavaria, and Thisted Bryghus have secured stable supplies and reduced their carbon footprints. Whether at industrial or craft scale, the benefits are clear: reliable gas supply, improved quality control, cost savings, and a lighter environmental impact.

Taking the Next Step

For breweries considering this step, the path forward begins with a CO₂ audit, measuring current usage, identifying losses, and mapping seasonal demand. From there, selecting the right plant size and storage capacity ensures the system aligns with production schedules. With DALUM’s expertise, brewers receive not only the equipment but also feasibility studies, ROI projections, and ongoing support.

In an industry where quality and consistency are paramount, CO₂ recovery is more than an operational upgrade, it’s a commitment to resilience and responsibility. With companies like DALUM making the technology accessible to small and medium-sized breweries, the opportunity to close the CO₂ loop has never been more attainable.