Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Facts Concerning Cryogenic Gases That Are Worth Understanding

By Grace Rivas


Cryogenic gases are gases which are kept in liquid or gaseous form at low temperatures. Their boiling points are set at less than negative one hundred and fifty degrees Centigrade. These materials exist in gaseous form at room temperature and pressure. They have two key attributes. The first attribute is, when liquefied, little quantities of liquid melt into large quantities of gas. The 2nd attribute is that they normally are very cold.

Because of their extremely low temperatures, they condense atmospheric air to form fog that is visible to the eye. When kept in containers that are insulated poorly, they condense surrounding air to create a mixture of liquid and air. According to WHMIS criteria, they are categorized as compressed gasses.

Every cryogenic material has its own characteristics, although many of them can be classified in one of these groups. The groups are oxygen and flammable or inert gasses. Inert gas does not undergo a lot of chemical reactions with other materials. Materials classified under the inert group include neon, krypton, nitrogen, and Oregon. Flammable gas can undergo combustion in atmospheric air. Main examples are methane, hydrogen, and liquefied natural gas among others. Most materials considered non-combustible burn when combined with liquid atmospheric oxygen. This makes it vital to handle oxygen with safety measures that are not similar to those of the other cryogenics.

These substances are stored, transported, and used in containers that are highly insulated. The containers are designed in a way that they can withstand fast changes in temperature and they can also endure great temperature differences. Examples of containers that are used include laboratory liquid dewar flasks, liquid dewar flasks, and gas cylinders. Gas cylinders have valves for dispensing and filling the gas and pressure-control valves with frangible disks for backup protection.

There are several health hazards associated with these substances and precaution must be taken when handling them. The health hazards are classified into three groups, that is toxicity, asphyxiation, and extreme cold. The cold gas and its associated vapor can cause effects on the skin similar to thermal burns. Brief exposure that cannot affect skin can affect delicate tissues like eyes. Other effects include frostbite, pain, sticking on cold surface, and lung damage.

Most of these gases are normally heavier than atmospheric air. They therefore displace air and settle on the floor creating a shortage of oxygen. Oxygen deficiency can cause asphyxiation and death eventually. It is therefore not recommended to handle the materials in enclosed rooms with poor ventilation. Substances such as carbon monoxide are highly toxic and can cause death in minutes if they leak into the environment.

These substances have numerous uses in various governmental, industrial and domestic applications. To start with, liquefied forms are employed as fuels for rockets and other fast planes. Other applications comprise of blood and food preservation, electrical power transmission, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and forward looking infrared. Certain rare groups of blood need to be maintained under extremely cold temperature to remain valuable. They are used to make detectors too.

Of all Cryogenic gases, liquefied nitrogen gas is the most commonly utilized. It is legal for acquisition and can be bought from any place around the globe. Dewar flasks are apparently the best storage containers used.




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