Festive decorations, scary movies, cooler weather, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin patches and brewery visits are staples of the Halloween season – but did you know that these traditions wouldn’t be possible without compressed air and gas and vacuum? That’s right! From candy corn and haunted house animatronics to your favorite pumpkin-flavored beer, let’s cover how our favorite spooky season is powered by the air compressor industry.
Halloween Candy. If there’s one thing Halloween is known for, it’s the sheer number of tasty treats that are consumed in the days leading up to (and even after) October 31st. In fact, the National Retail Foundation expects up to $2.6 billion dollars to be spent on Halloween candy this year alone. That’s a lot of candy! You can thank air compressors, blowers, vacuum pumps, and nitrogen generators for helping to create these sweets. Halloween favorites like fruit gummies and king-sized chocolate bars require vacuum for the flavor distillation and evaporation processes used to create the addicting flavors we all know and love! Air compressors power the pneumatic equipment in the candy-wrapping and packaging areas; industrial blowers use low-pressure air to help move the candy down the production line; and on-site N2 generators are essential in packaging the candy and keeping it fresh until it hits the shelves and makes its way to your Halloween basket.
Pumpkin Beer/Ale. Pumpkin beer…is there a better beverage to drink in fall? We don’t think so! From fermentation and aeration to bottling and carbonating, air compressors are key for breweries’ processes. Nitrogen (produced from on-site nitrogen generators) is also a very important gas in brewing applications. From purging tanks between uses to keeping wort, beer and residual mash from oxidizing and contaminating the next batch of beer, N2 is the ideal gas for breweries. Nitrogen can also be used to push beer from one tank to the other, and in the final stages of the brewing process, it’s used to pressurize kegs prior to shipment and final use. If the delicious brew is planning on make its way to the shelves rather than the tap, vacuum is used for bottling applications. Vacuum pumps are also used to evacuate air from inside the bottle to create an air-tight seal that retains the beer's brewery-fresh Fall taste.
PSLs – Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Pumpkin spice lattes, which are lovingly referred to as PSLs, might be the most iconic fall drink, and fall-flavored coffees abound during the months of October. Pumpkin, maple, caramel, and s’mores are only a few flavors that you’re likely to encounter when visiting your local coffee shop. These coffees are made possible with help from on-site nitrogen generation, including flushing the packaging with N2 to ensure the freshness of the beans, grounds, and coffee pods to storing extra coffee beans.
Haunted Houses and Spooky Theme Parks. Do you like being scared? If so, attending a haunted house or a haunted amusement park is likely on your Fall bucket list! Air compressors are common sources of power in amusement parks, given that they’re a safer, simpler, non-electrical alternative for power. Compressed air also works to make roller coaster rides more comfortable while also operating as the power behind pneumatic equipment like gates.
Have an example of a fall or Halloween-related application that uses compressed air? Let us know in the comments below! In the meantime, visit us at www.atlascopco.com/air-usa to learn more about Atlas Copco’s portfolio of compressed air and gas equipment.
About the Author. Katie Falcon is the contributing writer and editor for The Compressed Air Blog. She currently works at Atlas Copco Compressors as a Digital Marketing Specialist specializing in content creation and platform development. Reach her via email atkatie.falcon@atlascopco.com. Carter Thiel acted as the technical contributor and currently works as a Product Marketing Manager at Atlas Copco Compressors. He can be reached via email at carter.thiel@atlascopco.com.
