Industrial gases Flashcards
What are industrial gases?
Industrial gases are commercially manufactured gases used in various industrial applications, such as steelmaking, refining, medical treatments, and semiconductor production.
How are industrial gases produced?
They are produced by air separation processes, chemical synthesis, or extraction from natural sources, and can exist in compressed, liquid, or solid forms.
What is the purpose of liquefying gases?
Liquefaction facilitates storage transportation, air conditioning, and the study of fundamental gas properties.
Name some important liquefied gases.
Liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, liquid argon, liquid hydrogen, liquid helium, LNG (liquefied natural gas), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
What are the steps involved in the liquefaction of air?
Step 1: Conversion of air into liquid air.
Step 2: Fractional distillation to separate nitrogen, oxygen, and argon.
What are the primary industrial uses of oxygen?
Oxygen supports combustion, sustains life, and is used in steelmaking, oxidation processes, wastewater treatment, and medical treatments.
How is liquid oxygen produced?
Liquid oxygen is obtained through fractional distillation of atmospheric air.
What are the risks associated with liquid oxygen?
It is cryogenic and can make materials brittle. It is also a powerful oxidizer that can cause rapid combustion or explosions if combined with organic materials.
What are the uses of nitrogen in its liquid form?
Liquid nitrogen is used for food freezing, cryosurgery, storing biological samples, cooling superconductors, and as an open-cycle refrigerant.
How is nitrogen produced industrially?
Nitrogen is produced by fractional distillation of liquid air.
What are the common applications of carbon dioxide?
Carbon dioxide is used in carbonated beverages, fire extinguishers, refrigeration (as dry ice), baking powder and various chemical manufacturing processes.
How is carbon dioxide produced?
It is often a by-product of fermentation, limestone decomposition, or industrial chemical reactions.
What are the rare gases, and where are they used?
Rare gases include argon, neon, krypton, xenon, and helium. They are used in lighting (e.g., argon in bulbs, krypton in high-performance lights), providing inert atmospheres, and medical applications like easing breathing in asthma sufferers.
How is helium obtained?
Helium is extracted through fractional distillation from natural gas, which contains up to 7% helium.
What are the main industrial uses of hydrogen?
Hydrogen is used in ammonia production, hydrogenation of oils, metal welding, and as a tracer gas for leak detection.
