Liquid nitrogen is produced in large quantities at air separation plants which liquefy and distil air into its constituent parts: nitrogen, oxygen and argon.
It is delivered to our customers by cryogenic tankers, into onsite storage, for use in high-volume customer applications.

It is stored as a cryogenic liquid in a vacuum-insulated vessel which can provide several days' supply and be used on demand as either a liquid or gas.

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Features

• Refrigerated liquefied gas

• Boiling point -196°C

• Gas/vapour heavier than air

• Odourless, colourless and non toxic

• Chemically inert at ambient temperatures

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Specification

• Nitrogen 99.999%

• Oxygen <5vpm

• Moisture <2vpm

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Application and use

In its liquid form nitrogen is used as a cryogen for many applications where very low temperatures or rapid temperature reduction is required.

The inert property of gaseous nitrogen enables it to be used for applications where a substance needs to be protected from oxidation or combustion by atmospheric air, or from contamination by moisture.

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Some common applications where nitrogen is used are:

Artificial Insemination  -  Nitrogen is often used for the storage of semen samples for artificial insemination of cattle.  

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Blanketing and inerting  -  Nitrogen is used to maintain a dry inert atmosphere over chemicals during storage, reaction or processing.    

 

Controlled atmospheres    The atmosphere and ambient temperature surrounding naturally respiring products such as fruit is actively controlled to provide optimum conditions for long-term storage    

 

Electronics    Used in the inerting of printed circuit board reflow and wave ovens, to prevent oxidation and facilitate the use of weaker fluxes which decompose more easily without leaving a residue    

 

Food freezing/chilling    Liquid nitrogen freezes food quickly, producing a higher-quality product compared to to conventional refrigeration    

 

Food inerting    Used in brewing, soft drinks and wine-making industries to exclude air from the product and de-aerate water.  

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Food packaging    Used in modified atmosphere packaging, liquid nitrogen can increase the shelf-life without the need for vacuum-packing, artificial preservatives or freezing    

 

Freeze-drying    In the freeze-drying process, materials dissolved in water or organic solvents are frozen into particles or droplets. A vacuum is applied to the freezing chamber along with a controlled amount of heat sufficient to drive off moisture by sublimation    

 

Glass    Nitrogen and hydrogen are used in the float glass process for manufacturing flat glass. In this process perfectly flat glass with a very high quality is achieved by floating liquid glass on a bath of molten tin    

 

Heat treatment    Pure nitrogen is used to protect some of the most reactive metals during heat treatment. These metals readily form a protective oxide surface layer from the small amount of oxygen in the nitrogen and need no further protection    

Lasers    Nitrogen is used as an assist gas for laser cutting of stainless steel, aluminium and non-metallic materials    

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Metals    Nitrogen is used in iron and steelworks applications for degassing and metal-stirring, purging, cooling, slag splashing, gas knives and as a carrier gas for injecting de-sulphurising compounds. It is also used for aluminium-extrusion inerting    

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Pipe-freezing    Repairs can be made to a pipe containing a liquid by using liquid nitrogen to freeze a plug of liquid on each side of the section of pipe to be opened    

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Purging    Applications include inerting reactors and storage tanks, purging vessels and pipelines of flammable or toxic gases and vapours, and the sparging and pressure transfer of liquids    

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Shrink-fitting    Liquid nitrogen is used to shrink components so they are small enough to be inserted into another component    

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Sample storage    Liquid Nitrogen can be used to store medical or research samples such as blood, plasma and semen – safely