dimanche 21 juin 2015

Nitrogen Compounds That Users Of The N2 Generator Should Know About

By Freida Michael


Nitrogen is a standard industrial gas at present. It is supplied by users of specialized equipment known as a nitrogen generator, or N2 generator. This equipment uses thin air to generate the pure gas, something which might come as a surprise to those who are not educated about this process.

Nitrogen, as a gas, is not simple to handle or store. It forms a liquid at an extremely low temperature. Its point of turning into a liquid is about -300F (-180C). Needless to say, this makes it extremely difficult to store or maintain in that state. It must be stored and kept pure, yet it does not stay at that temperature naturally.

The challenge in storage is that the gas cannot naturally be kept at that temperature, unless highly specialized equipment is used or high pressure. There is no place on planet earth where the temperature is naturally that low. The usual solution is to keep the gas under high pressure, so that it stays liquid. This also happens in kitchen gas tanks, where the fuel gas, usually propane, is at such a high pressure that it liquefies partially when the tank is full.

Nitrogen itself is harmless to people in its gaseous state. It represents 80% of the atmosphere at surface level. In other words, 80% of the air that you breathe is nitrogen. It does, however, have the ability to form compounds with other elements, and this is where users of the nitrogen generator might be interested in conducting some background research.

Nitric acid is perhaps one of the best known. It is one of the most potent acids in industry and its storage is not safe in any material over a long period of time. It forms through the combination of nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen and its use requires special training. Nitrates are commonly found in agriculture, where they are some of the main ingredients in fertilizer. They should be identified in isolation to nitrites. The difference is that nitrites have two oxygen atoms but nitrates have three. Nitrates are formed by soil and root bacteria, which use the nitrogen in the atmosphere. An example of a plant that does this is the lupin.

Nitric acid contains nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. Concentrated nitric acid is so corrosive that it cannot be stored in anything for more than a temporary period. It is possibly the most corrosive acid of all acids and it should only be handled by those who are qualified to do so. Nitrates are a group of nitrogenous compounds that occur in agricultural fertilizers. The nitrogen in the atmosphere is trapped into the soil by bacteria which are resident in the roots of some plants, for example lupins. Nitrates have three oxygen atoms, and so should not be confused with nitrites, which have only two.

Silver nitrate is used in medicine, where it burns growths off the exterior of the human body. It is an attractive chemical, with a reflective silver sheen and a liquid state at ordinary atmospheric temperature. But it eats into human skin so it should be treated with caution, too.

Users of the nitrogen generator should be informed about these secondary chemicals, or nitrogen compounds, that nitrogen can form when it reacts with other substances. They need to have this information so that they can do proper maintenance on their equipment and also prevent damage, as well as securing a pure output of nitrogen gas.




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