Industrial Gases

Industrial gases perform varied and essential functions in the world. Some are raw materials for the manufacture of other chemicals. This is true for CO2, O2, N2, H2, CH4 etc. This chapter will concentrate on the production of O2, N2, H2 gases.
Oxygen: Oxygen composed of diatom (O) bind to form O2 gas, a very pale blue, odorless, tasteless diatomic gas. Oxygen gas constitutes 20.8% of the volume of air. It is necessary to sustain global life. Major uses of O2:
1. Producing oxyacetylene flame to cutting and welding metals.
2. In open hearth or basic oxygen furnaces for steel production.
3. Applications of artificial respiration and other medical purposes.
4. Chemical manufacture of acetylene, ethylene oxide, and others.
Nitrogen: Nitrogen (N2) is a colorless, odorless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.09% by volume of Earth s atmosphere. Nitrogen occurs in all living organisms, primarily in amino acids, proteins and in the nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). Major uses of N2:
1. Manufacture of synthetic ammonia, nitrogen oxide and nitric acid.
2. Manufacture organic nitrates like propellants and explosives.
3. Synthetically produced nitrates are key ingredients of industrial fertilizers.