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Drying, Inerting, Blanketing, Purging, Sparging
Protecting Chemicals and Fuels in Storage and Pipelines as well as APIs in Tanks
Inert nitrogen gas is widely used at chemicals, power, pharma and biotech plants to protects valuable chemicals, fuels and ingredients against oxygen and moisture for improved reaction safety, controllability and quality
Put Our Service Expertise to Work for You
Our service experts have many decades of experience in the design and delivery of professional drying systems, inerting, purging, sparging and blanketing solutions, and pressure transfer installations.
As a leading supplier of inert gases such as nitrogen and argon, we have extensive experience in the potential of these products to protect valuable chemicals, fuels and ingredients. We have helped countless customers around the world to put systems in place to create and maintain inert atmospheres. Our experts can help you select and size the equipment you need for safe, effective inerting, purging, sparging and pressure transfer.
In some regions, these services are available as all-inclusive packages including maintenance and operation - leaving you free to focus on your core business.
Drying and Purging
Our industrial service portfolio includes drying with nitrogen (N2) gas. This involves pumping N2 at high flow rates, pressures and temperatures through your process system to dry and purge it. The low dew point of N2 (-67.8°C or -90°F) makes this an efficient way to remove moisture from process systems, saving you time and money. We also provide N2 to safely purge potentially explosive hydrocarbon and air mixtures from vessels, gas lines, transfer lines and equipment. In some regions, this service is available as a complete problem-solving package including maintenance and operation by our staff.
Our refinery turnaround portfolio includes a dry air all-inclusive service in certain geographies. This can be an attractive alternative to drying process systems as it delivers 100% oil-free air at dew points as low as -67.8°C (-90°F) using multi-bed desiccant dryers. Contact your local Linde representative to check what services are available in your area.
Inerting for Safe Storage of Valuable Materials
Atmospheric oxygen and moisture can compromise the safe storage of valuable chemicals, fuels and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), particularly in the case of highly volatile substances or products prone to oxidation. Inerting or blanketing can help overcome this problem by displacing air and moisture. Inerting involves injecting pure, dry nitrogen (N2) into a vessel’s headspace to prevent oxidation or moisture contamination. The N2 gas forms a protective, safe layer of gas over the contents of the tank or reactor.
Gases such as N2 and carbon dioxide (CO2) can also be used to create a protective blanket in storage tanks and vessels containing flammable liquids or solids to prevent fire or explosion. Blanketing maintains a safe and dependable inert layer of gas on top of the substance or in the empty spaces in a vessel. CO2 and N2 can also be used to maintain a dry inert atmosphere in industrially cleaned piping and vessels to avoid corrosion.
As a leading supplier of the inert gases N2 and CO2, we also have the know-how to help you select and size the equipment you need for safe, effective inerting and blanketing.
Purging to Replace Vessel Volume with Inert Gas
Purging is an inerting method commonly used in safety-critical process vessels such as reactors to eliminate oxygen and moisture when operations are started up or shut down. The three primary methods are displacement, dilution and vacuum purging. With displacement purging, an inert gas is injected into an open vessel to displace atmospheric air. Dilution purging involves injecting an inert gas to reduce the concentration of oxygen and moisture. In the case of vacuum purging, air is extracted with a vacuum pump and an inert gas is then fed into the evacuated vessel. Purging is also used to remove air from piping systems.
In addition, purging can be used to dispel flammable or poisonous gases. Purging is typically an initial step used to prepare a vessel before maintaining an inert atmosphere in the headspace.
Our experts can advise on the purging setup best suited to your operational challenges.
Pressure Transfer of Liquids with Inert Gases
Conventional methods used to transfer reactants from one vessel to another present a number of challenges. They often require special pump designs, compatible with the wide range of fluids which need to be transferred. In addition, even small failures of seals, especially on the suction side of the pump, can result in leakage of air or other ambient vapors into the fluid stream. In the case of high-quality synthesis reactions, such impurities can lead to product rejections. In addition, rotating equipment like pumps requires ongoing maintenance and can be prone to failure, which can be very disruptive to chemical production or refining operations.
Pressure transfer using pure dry inert gases like nitrogen offer a simpler and safer alternative to pumping. Pressure transfer does not require any rotating equipment and is therefore more reliable. The rate of liquid transfer can be regulated by controlling the gas flow rate and pressure. We have years of expertise in the proper specification of pressure transfer systems and components.
Sparging to Displace Oxygen with Inert Gas
Sparging with inert gases like nitrogen or argon is used to strip oxygen from liquids such as chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Sparging involves passing finely dispersed gas bubbles through the liquid. This helps to improve mixing and increase the surface area for gas-liquid mass transfer. Consequently, this technique is not just used to strip oxygen from liquids, but also to intensify chemical and biological reactions.
Sparging can be used to preserve the quality and longevity of products by eliminating undesirable substances and inhibiting unwanted chemical reactions with oxygen. In the pharmaceutical industry, injecting a stream of fine gas bubbles is a fast, flexible and effective way to boost a chemical or biological reaction by increasing the available surface area between the two phases. We have years of experience specifying components used for effective sparging.