Nitrogen (N₂)

What is nitrogen?

Nitrogen is a colourless, odourless, inert gas representing 78 % of the atmosphere. It is produced by separating the components of air.

It is supplied in gas or liquid forms, depending on the intended application.

In industry, gas nitrogen is used for inerting, purging and decanting, refrigerating and as an inert shielding gas in welding ideal for melting metals such as tin, zinc, and steel. It is also used in food packaging and beverage dispatching. In the annual grape harvest, nitrogen is used to improve the preservation of grapes during the whole wine-making process.

Nitrogen is used in laboratory techniques such as chromatography or to calibrate analytical instruments.

In healthcare, nitrogen is used in liquid form. Its low temperature (-196ºC) is useful in the following treatments:

• Dermatology. Treatment of superficial cutaneous injuries. This procedure enables freezing and destroying abnormal cells under the skin and is used to cure different cutaneous injuries.
• Cryosurgery. The aim is to eliminate malign cells through freezing with liquid nitrogen.
• Cryopreservation or cryobanks. Cells, tissues, organs, or whole individuals are frozen at very low temperatures.

Product details