Industrial Gas

Industrial gases are a group of gases that are specifically manufactured for use in a wide
range of industries, which include oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, power, mining,
steelmaking,
metals,
environmental
protection,
medicine,
pharmaceuticals,
biotechnology, food, water, fertilizers, nuclear power, electronics and aerospace. Their
production is a part of the wider chemical Industry (where industrial gases are often seen
as "speciality chemicals")
The principal gases provided are nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon, hydrogen,
helium and acetylene.
History
The first gas from the natural environment used by man was almost certainly air when it
was discovered that blowing on or fanning a fire made it burn brighter. Man also used
the warm gases from a fire to smoke food. Steam from boiling water has also been used
by man in cooking foods.
70006600 BCE carbon dioxide as a product of fermentation, particularly in beverages
was first documented in Jiahu, China
500 B.C - Chinese discovered the potential to transport gas seeping from the ground in
crude pipelines of bamboo to where it was used to boil sea water
Discovery of various gases: carbon dioxide (1754), hydrogen (1766), nitrogen (1772),
nitrous oxide (1772), oxygen (1773) , ammonia (1774), chlorine (1774),] methane (1776),
hydrogen sulfide (1777),] carbon monoxide (1800), hydrogen chloride (1810), acetylene
(1836), helium (1868), fluorine (1886), argon (1894), krypton, neon and xenon
(1898) and radon (1899).
1772 carbonated water was made
1785 chlorine was first used in bleach textiles
1844 - nitrous oxide was first used for dentistry anesthesia; Kipps apparatus used to
generate gases such as hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, acetylene and carbon
dioxide by simple gas evolution reactions was invented
1893 acetylene was manufactured
1898 - acetylene generators were used to produce gas for gas cooking and gas lighting
1912 - LPG was produced commercially from 1912, the use of acetylene for cooking
declined.
1869 - electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen
1884 - Brin process for oxygen production which was invented
1888 - electrolysis of water to produce oxygen
1892 - cloralkali process to produce chlorine
1908 - Haber Process to produce ammonia
1823 - Carbon dioxide was first liquefied
1834 - first Vapor-compression refrigeration cycle using ether was invented
1883 - Liquid oxygen and Liquid nitrogen were both first made

1898 - Liquid hydrogen was first made

1908 - Liquid helium
1910.- LPG was first made
1880s - construction of the first high pressure gas cylinders
1895 - refrigeration compression cycles were further developed to enable the
liquefaction of air by Carl von Linde
1896 - discovery that large quantities of acetylene could be dissolved in acetone and
rendered nonexplosive allowed the safe bottling of acetylene
Use of Industrial Gases
Uses of industrial gases The different gases are used in a wide variety of industries, but
most notably in the metal, polymer and food industries.
Acetylene
Acetylene is mainly used in oxy-acetylene flames for cutting mild steel and for welding.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is used to react with traces of oxygen in other gas streams. The two gases
react forming water, which can be easily condensed out of a gas mixture. The majority of
the hydrogen is sold to the edible fats and oils industry where it is used to hydrogenate
vegetable oils to make margarine
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is used widely in the food industry for applications such as removing the
caffeine from coffee beans to make decaffeinated coffee and for carbonating beer, soft
drinks etc. It is also used for cooling in the food and manufacturing industries.
Nitrogen
Nitrogen has two main uses: cooling and as an inert atmosphere. As liquid nitrogen it is
used for cooling in many industrial processes and in the food industry As gaseous
nitrogen it is used to form an inert blanket over substances that would otherwise be
oxidized by the air. Nitrogen is used for cooling various mechanical equipment that
needs to be kept extremely cold and for snap-freezing foods such as chicken,
hamburger patties and fruit to be eaten out of season. Inert blankets of nitrogen are used
over reactive liquids in tankers, in varnish manufacture and also inside potato chip
packets.
Oxygen
Oxygen is used to oxidize unwanted impurities in the steel. The remainder is in the food
industry, for medical oxygen for respiration and in oxy-acetylene torche.
Argon
Argon is highly unreactive and so, like nitrogen, can be used as a protective blanket to
prevent substances from oxidizing. Argon is mainly used to protect very hot metal, as
this is highly reactive. Most of it is used in welding to protect the molten metal, and a
small amount is used in light bulbs to prevent the white-hot tungsten filament from
oxidizing.