This article describes the production of five gases (hydrogen, carbon dioxide,nitrogen, oxygen and argon) by Chengdu Taiyu Industrial Gases Co., Ltd. The products are all gases under normal conditions, but are not necessarily stored or transported as such.
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. Uses of the individual gases are discussed below.
Hydrogen
A small proportion of the hydrogen is used by TYHJ Gases 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 decafinated 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 oxidised 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
The majority of the oxygen produced by TYHJ Gases is used by the Glenbrook steel mill to oxidise unwanted impurities in the steel. The remainder is in the food industry, for medical oxygen for respiration and in oxy-acetylene torches.
Argon
Argon is highly unreactive and so, like nitrogen, can be used as a protective blanket to prevent substances from oxidising. 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 oxidising.
