Nitrogen
Nitrogen
Constituting about 80% of the atmosphere, nitrogen is an inert air gas under normal condition, but if subjected to high temperatures or to an electric arc can be active. In gaseous form, nitrogen reduces the oxidation of materials by displacing air, which optimises manufacturing processes and eradicates the risk of explosion, enhancing safety for both workers and equipment.
Industries and Applications
Welding & Metal Fabrication
Among common preventive solutions, Nitrogen is widely used in welding and brazing as an inert blanket and purging agent to displace oxygen and other reactive gases, preventing combustion and contamination during heat treatment processes in steelwork applications.
Nitrogen is also the most suitable for laser cutting and high-current plasma cutting, as it offers excellent cut quality for non-ferrous metals such as aluminium or stainless steel, providing a cleaner cut edge by minimising oxidation.
Food & Beverage
Liquid nitrogen offers many advantages in the food industry due to its extremely low temperature and its ability to flash chill and freeze food products. It is an effective and convenient refrigerant for cold chain applications, including refrigerated storage and temperature-controlled transportation of large masses of frozen food.
Introducing nitrogen in food packing processes, such as MAP food packaging, helps maintain freshness in food, prolonging shelf life of food products – usually for fruits, vegetables, meat products, seafood and even some prepared meals.
Healthcare
In the medical and pharmaceutical industries where patient safety and product quality are paramount, nitrogen finds use in many different processes and applications – from packaging and shipping of medical supplies, medical instrument sterilization, to powering high quality surgical tools.
Liquid nitrogen is also essential for cryosurgical removal of abnormal cells or diseased tissue in dermatological and minimally invasive cancer treatment, as well as cryopreservation of biological specimens and vaccines, allowing for more accurate diagnostic tests, both for research and transplantation.
Electronics
Manufacturing electronics – including the fields of semiconductor and circuit manufacturing – where precision is key, requires extremely controlled environment, regarding timing, temperature, assembling and packaging. As such, high purity nitrogen is employed to render a clean, safe and inert atmosphere, minimising oxidation of sensitive electronic components in soldering processes and during storage. By protecting circuit boards with a nitrogen blanket, enables for a strong sturdy solder connection, resulting in long-term reliability and enhanced quality of the electronic components.
