Industrial gases refer to a wide range of industrial gases but we will confine or discussion in this article to six of the most commonly industrially used gases — acetylene, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen and argon. There are so many large to small scale gas manufacturing companies in India meeting the demand of these gases. To begin with, acetylene is made by the reaction of calcium carbide with water; oxygen, nitrogen and argon are produced by cryogenic distillation; hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water. The big six are mostly found as gases under normal conditions but during storage or transportation they might be in liquefied form.
Importance of industrial gases can be understood from the shortage of medical oxygen faced by India after the on-set of pandemic. It is unfortunate that so many people died because the hospitals in various states did not have adequate medical oxygen supplies. However, industrial gases are no less important as they are crucial for sustaining industrial processes across wide range of industries. Gas manufacturing companies situated in different parts of the country have set up their big plants where these gases are produced and then distributed though the elaborate logistics established by them. These gases are used in the manufacturing of products that we use in our daily life but we never seem to notice. For example, nitrogen is used in food packaging for keeping out oxygen for prevention of oxidation. Liquid nitrogen is used for preserving taste, color, integrity, freshness and integrity of food.
Applications and manufacturing of industrial gas plants
Industrial gas manufacturing companies in India usually focus on some of the gases leaving out others depending on how they see the demand of these gases in their region or area of operation. Some companies might prefer to focus only on medical gas while others will only deal in industrial gases. If you are a business that requires use of industrial gases and looking for reputed industrial gas companies, all you have to do is to search them in Google. To establish their reputation, it is imperative to look for their user reviews besides ranking in the Google. It is far better if you could get reference from their past clients about their service, pricing compared to other manufacturers and reliability.
Many of the industrial gas companies also manufacturers and supplies industrial gas plants. These are meant for the businesses that require continuous supply of industrial gas. There is just one way to get this done —having their captive industrial plant. For example, if you are in the business of welding, cutting and heating, it makes sense if you install captive oxygen gas plant. Similarly, other businesses having the scale might just as well opt for installing a liquid nitrogen plant or an acetylene plant. Manufacturing and designing of the industrial gas plants along with the technology used will depend on the industrial gas for the production which the plant will be made. As stated above, cryogenic distillation or PSA technology is used for producing oxygen, nitrogen and argon. Production of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and acetylene require different technologies.
Uses of industrial gases are discussed briefly below:
These gases are used in wide range of industries but the metal, polymer and food industries consume the biggest portion of six gases discussed here.
The different gases are used in a wide variety of industries, but most notably in the metal, polymer and food industries.
Argon
It is a highly non-reactive element like nitrogen and can be used for prevention of oxidization of substances. Argon is used for shielding hot metals from oxidation.
Acetylene
It is chiefly used along with oxygen in cutting steel and for welding, heating and brazing.
Carbon dioxide
This gas finds extensive applications in the food industry. For example, it is used for removal of caffeine from coffee beans for making carbonating beer, soft drinks, and decafinated coffee. Moreover, it is also used as a coolant in manufacturing & food industries.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is used in making edible fats and oil industry where it is used for making margarine and similar other hydrogenated products.
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is used as refrigerant for cooling mechanical equipment and for freezing foods and fruits to be eaten later. It is also used for blanketing tankers, potato chip packets, etc.
Oxygen
Steel industry is the biggest consumer of oxygen (oxygen plant manufacturers) which is used for oxidization of unwanted impurities in the steel. The remaining gas is used in medical field for respiration, chemical industry, welding, etc.
