CO₂ cylinders have important applications in some life-saving tools:

1.Life rafts

（1）Inflation power source: In case of an emergency, life rafts need to be inflated and deployed quickly, and CO₂ cylinders provide a reliable inflation power source for them. When the inflation pull cord of the life raft is pulled, it will trigger the opening of the valve of the CO₂ cylinder. The high-pressure CO₂ gas in the cylinder will quickly fill the airbag of the life raft, making it expand and take shape in a short time, providing a floating platform for those who have fallen into the water. Generally, large life rafts may be equipped with multiple CO₂ cylinders to ensure sufficient gas volume for the raft body to expand rapidly and achieve adequate buoyancy.

（2）Buoyancy replenishment: During the use of the life raft, if the airbag leaks slowly, resulting in a decrease in buoyancy, some life rafts are designed with a reinflation device. By opening the spare CO₂ cylinder, the air can be replenished to maintain the buoyancy of the life raft and ensure its floating performance and safety.

2.Life jackets

（1）Automatically inflating life jackets: This type of life jacket has a built-in CO₂ cylinder and an automatic inflation device. When the life jacket comes into contact with water, the water-sensitive element will trigger the inflation device, puncture the sealing membrane of the CO₂ cylinder, and make the CO₂ gas quickly fill the airbag of the life jacket, inflating the life jacket within a few seconds and providing buoyancy for the wearer. This kind of life jacket is widely used in scenarios such as water operations, navigation, and swimming, and can quickly provide buoyancy for people in case of accidental falling into the water, increasing the chance of survival.

（2）Manually inflating life jackets: In addition to the automatic inflation function, some life jackets are also equipped with a manual inflation device connected to the CO₂ cylinder. In case of an emergency, the wearer can pull the inflation pull ring or press the inflation button to open the valve of the CO₂ cylinder and manually inflate the life jacket to make it expand. This design serves as a supplement or backup to the automatic inflation, ensuring that the life jacket can function in a timely manner under various circumstances.

3.Diving emergency life-saving devices

（1）Spare air source: During the diving process, the main air source for divers is the diving cylinder. However, when the main air source fails or runs out of gas, some diving emergency life-saving devices will use the CO₂ cylinder as a spare air source. This kind of device is usually designed with a special breathing circuit and decompression system, which can reduce the high-pressure gas in the CO₂ cylinder to a pressure suitable for human breathing and mix it with an appropriate amount of oxygen (in some devices, pure CO₂ is used as the last emergency air source for divers to ascend to the water surface in a short time), providing emergency breathing gas for divers and helping them return to the water surface safely.

（2）Buoyancy adjustment: Some diving emergency life-saving devices also use CO₂ cylinders to adjust buoyancy. By releasing or filling CO₂ gas into the buoyancy adjustment airbag of the device, divers can quickly adjust their own buoyancy state in case of an emergency. For example, during the ascending process, it can prevent rapid ascent leading to decompression sickness, or increase buoyancy when needed to make it easier for them to float to the water surface.

If you are interested in the specific details of the various weights of our CO₂ cylinders, you can click the link below to learn more.