I thought the answer was obvious, but endless google searching has revealed nothing but speculation and people who have completely conflicting opinions. Some people say CO2 absorbs no heat, others say it can cool things extremely rapidly. Anyone who has ever had compressed CO2 sprayed on themselves or on hands knows it can cause very rapid drop in temperature on what ever it hits very fast.

So, if I have a really hot mass of liquid, would spraying compressed CO2 on it be an effective means of freezing/solidying the mass? - Assuming the liquid is well above room temperature (100+) and turns to a solid after a 20-30 degree drop in temperature?

I understand why the CO2 is cold coming out of the tank, as it is decompressed, but is it effective at absorbing heat?

I thought the answer was obvious, but endless google searching has revealed nothing but speculation and people who have completely conflicting opinions. Some people say $\ce{CO2}$ absorbs no heat, others say it can cool things extremely rapidly. Anyone who has ever had compressed $\ce{CO2}$ sprayed on themselves or on hands knows it can cause very rapid drop in temperature on what ever it hits very fast.

So, if I have a really hot mass of liquid, would spraying compressed $\ce{CO2}$ on it be an effective means of freezing/solidying the mass? - Assuming the liquid is well above room temperature (100+) and turns to a solid after a 20-30 degree drop in temperature?

I understand why the $\ce{CO2}$ is cold coming out of the tank, as it is decompressed, but is it effective at absorbing heat?