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Updated: Apr 20, 2026

Achieving Moderate Pressures in Sealed Vessels Using Dry Ice As a Solid CO2 Source
Published on: August 17, 2018
Does shaking increase the pressure inside a bottle of champagne?
A Vreme1, B Pouligny2, F Nadal3
1Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS, 115 avenue Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France; Equipe Effervescence (GSMA), UMR CNRS 7331, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, BP 1039, 51687 Reims, France.
Abstract:
Colas, beers and sparkling wines are all concentrated solutions of carbon dioxide in aqueous solvents. Any such carbonated liquid is ordinarily conditioned inside a closed bottle or a metal can as a liquid-gas 2-phase system. At thermodynamic equilibrium, the partial pressure of carbon-dioxide in the gas phase and its concentration in the liquid are proportional (Henry's law). In practical conditions and use (transport, opening of the container, exterior temperature change, etc.), Henry's equilibrium can be perturbed. The goal of this paper is to describe and understand how the system responds to such perturbations and evolves towards a new equilibrium state. Formally, we investigate the dynamics around Henry's equilibrium of a closed system, through dedicated experiments and modeling. We focus on the response to a sudden pressure change and to mechanical shaking (the latter point inspired the article's title). Observations are rationalized through basic considerations including molecular diffusion, bubble dynamics (based on Epstein-Plesset theory) and chemi-convective hydrodynamic instabilities.
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