Nitrogen production and application

By volume, dry air mainly contains nitrogen (78%) next to oxygen (21%) and argon (1%). Nitrogen is produced in so-called Air Separation Units (ASU). Most ASU processes use a a cryogenic process to separate Nitrogen from Oxygen.

Nitrogen is primarily used in the industry as a purge gas. Nitrogen purging is a standard technique for the replacement of a hazardous or undesirable atmosphere with an inert dry atmosphere.

Furthermore, cryogenic liquid nitrogen (LIN) is commonly used for cryogenic cooling, e.g. for cryo-preservation of biological material or cryogenic treatments.

Nitrogen characteristics

Nitrogen is a non-reactive gas. It has no color, odor or taste. At atmospheric pressure, Nitrogen becomes liquid at a cryogenic temperature of −196 °C (−320 °F).

The liquefied nitrogen (LIN) is a clear liquid with a density of 807 kg/m3.

Under the UN classification of dangerous goods gaseous nitrogen is classified as UN1066 and  liquid nitrogen (LIN) as UN1077.

Please refer to the material safety data sheet (MSDS) of nitrogen for more details.

Nitrogen container storage

Transport of liquid nitrogen using cryogenic road tankers and also 20ft or 30ft cryogenic tank containers is common practice. Our 40ft cryogenic tank containers are particularly suitable for temporary storage of liquid nitrogen.

Please contact us for further details.