Nitrogen is an essential component of the Earth’s atmosphere, making up 78 percent of its volume. This gas is also found in all living organisms and plays a vital role in many biochemical processes. Unsurprisingly nitrogen gas has a number of unique properties that make it extremely useful in a variety of industrial applications.
Food Preservation
Have you ever wondered how food remains fresh after months on a shelf? It’s because they’ve been treated with nitrogen gas which is used in food processing to preserve the texture and flavor of various products. How?
To illustrate, let’s say you have a bag of chips that’s been open for a while. If you take a close look, you’ll notice that the chips at the bottom of the bag are usually darker in color than those at the top. This is because oxygen has had time to oxidize the chips at the bottom of the bag, causing them to lose their original color.
Now, if you were to seal that same bag of chips using nitrogen gas, the chips would stay nice and crisp for a much longer period of time. This is because nitrogen gas is an inert gas, meaning it doesn’t interact with other elements. So, by displacing the oxygen in the packaging, you’re effectively preventing the chips from oxidizing and going bad.
Fire Prevention
Fire can be a devastating event for any business, causing extensive damage and often resulting in loss of life. That’s why many industries take measures to prevent fires from happening in the first place.
One way this is done is by using nitrogen gas to create a fire-safe environment. As mentioned earlier, when nitrogen is introduced into an area, it displaces the oxygen, reducing the amount of oxygen available to support combustion.
In fact, nitrogen gas generators are often used in storage facilities that house flammable materials. By reducing the amount of oxygen in the air, these generators create an environment that is less likely to support a fire, helping to keep stored materials safe.
Pharmaceutics
Pharmaceutics encompasses the development, production, and regulation of drugs and nitrogen gas is used in this industry for a variety of purposes.
For example, one-way nitrogen gas is used in pharmaceutics is through freeze-drying. This process is often used to preserve delicate drugs, like vaccines, that are sensitive to heat and moisture. To freeze dry a drug, it is first frozen and then placed in a vacuum chamber. As the drug warms up, the water vapor is drawn out of the product, leaving behind a dried form that can be stored for long periods of time.
Nitrogen gas is also used to package drugs by displacing the oxygen in the packaging and preventing oxidation, much like food preservation.
Nitrogen gas has a variety of uses that make it an important part of many industries. From preserving food to preventing fire, nitrogen gas plays an important role in keeping all kinds of businesses running smoothly.
