Phoenix brewery installs new technology to recapture carbon dioxide in climate change fight
PHOENIX - San Tan Brewing Company is on a mission to reduce carbon dioxide, and the company has recently installed new technology that recaptures CO2 and repurposes it.
"A lot of people are very anxious about climate conditions and where we’re going, and there is almost a feeling that we have to be able to flip a switch to change things overnight. Things don’t work like that," said San Tan Brewing Company owner Anthony Canecchia. "I felt it was an obligation that we have to find the money to get his equipment in, get this technology, and take that bite of it ourselves."
Technology recaptures CO2 from fermentation tanks
Canecchia is referring to piece of technology made by Earthly Labs that recaptures the greenhouse gas.
"We are capturing the carbon dioxide that is naturally produced by fermentation when we are fermenting beer," said Canecchia. "Up until now, that carbon dioxide just blows out of the tank and goes into the atmosphere."
San Tan Brewing has also installed a nitrogen generator.
"Air is 78% nitrogen. What we're doing is purifying the air into pure nitrogen, and we are using that to purge tanks and cans instead of using carbon dioxide, so once that purges back into the atmosphere, it becomes air again," said Canecchia.
Brewery owner: Every little bit helps
It's a two-step process that helps the brewery cut its CO2 emission in half, or roughly removing the emission of 500 metric tons (~1,102,311.3lbs) of carbon dioxide.
According to data released by the EPA, the U.S. emitted 6,558 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2019.
"It's those little bits," said Canecchia. "If now we can get every brewpub to do that and every large brewery to do that and anyone producing carbon dioxide, it's those little bites everyday that moves us toward our goal."
The brewery has a goal to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50%, and they are planning on purchasing another system to repurpose 100% of the carbon dioxide they would otherwise emit.
Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news