1. Acetylene
Chemical Symbol: C2H2
Synonyms: Ethine, Ethyne
Description:
Acetylene is a compound of carbon and hydrogen. It is a colorless, highly flammable gas and slightly lighter than air. Acetylene of 100 percent purity is odorless, but the commercial purity generated from calcium carbide has a distinctive, garlic like odor.
Acetylene can be liquefied and solidified with relative ease. However, in both the liquid and solid states, acetylene is shock sensitive and explodes with extreme violence when ignited. A mixture of gaseous acetylene with air or oxygen in certain proportions explodes if ignited.
Uses:
Acetylene is most commonly used for chemical synthesis. It is also used as a raw material for a whole series of organic compounds, among them acetaldehyde, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, acetone, and vinyl chloride. Furthermore, acetylene is used oxyacetylene welding, cutting, heat treating, and so on. Small amounts are used for lighting purposes in buoys, beacons, and similar devices
2. Argon
Chemical Symbol: Ar
Synonyms: LAR
Description
Argon is a highly inert nonflammable gas of the atmosphere, forms no chemical compounds and dissolves slightly when mixed with water. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless and nontoxic.
Uses
Argon is widely used in filling fluorescent lamps and electronic tubes. It is also used for arc welding and cutting, as well as in the production of titanium, zirconium and other metals. Furthermore, it is used in flushing molten metals to eliminate porosity in castings, and when growing silicon and germanium crystals.
3. Ethane
Chemical Symbol: C2H6
Synonyms: Bimethyl, dimethyl, ethyl hydride, methyl-methane
Description
Ethane is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas. It is relatively inactive and considered to be nontoxic.
Uses
Ethane is widely used as a fuel and organic synthesis. Sometimes ethane is also used as a refrigerant
4. Helium
Chemical Symbol: He
Description
Helium is the lightest element after hydrogen, and represents only 5 ppm of the atmosphere. It is a nonflammable and nontoxic gas. Helium is inert to chemical reactions and radiations. Out of all inert gases, helium has the highest thermal conductivity. The gas is only slightly soluble in water.
Uses
Helium is used for welding and as a lifting gas in balloons. It is also used as a coolant in nuclear reactors and for growing germanium and silicon crystals for transistors, as well as the production of some metals such as titanium and zirconium. Helium is also used for filling cold-water fluorescent lamps as well as laser and fiber optic production. When mixed with oxygen it can be used for diving and medical purposes. Liquid helium is used for cooling superconductive magnets
5. Hydrogen
Chemical Symbol: H2
Description
Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, flammable and nontoxic gas. It is the lightest element and can be found in the atmosphere with the concentration of about 0.5 ppm. The gas burns in air with an almost invisible light blue color. When mixed with air or oxygen, it has an ignition temperature between 566°C and 579°C. Hydrogen is flammable in dry air when the mixture consists of 4.0 percent to 75.0 percent hydrogen, and between 4.6 percent and 93.9 percent when mixed with oxygen. At temperatures of less than -253°C, hydrogen is in liquid form and its weight is only one fourteenth of the weight of water.
Uses
Hydrogen is used by refineries, petrochemical and bulk chemical facilities for hydrotreating, catalytic reforming, and hydrocracking. Hydrogen is used for production of chemicals, such as dyes, catalysts, flavors, fragrances, pesticides, halogen organics, plastic and synthetic fibers, and petroleum. It can also be used for heat treating, metal production, welding and cutting. Food companies use hydrogen to hydrogenate fats, oils and fatty acids for the products such as oleomargarine, soap and industrial greases and oils. In addition, hydrogen is used by glass manufacturers in the production of glass and by electronics manufacturers for production of semiconductors. Liquid hydrogen is used as a fuel for missiles and rockets, as well as in laboratory research.
6. Methane
Chemical Symbol: CH4
Synonyms: Marsh gas, methyl hydride
Description
Methane is colorless, odorless, tasteless and flammable. It is soluble in alcohol and ether, and slightly soluble in water. Methane is an element in coal gas and can be found in air in coal mines.
Uses
Methane is commonly used as a fuel and in the chemical industry when making products such as acetylene, ammonia, ethanol and methanol. It is also used for producing carbon black, which is used in rubber, printing inks and electronic devices.
Neon
7. Nitrogen
Chemical Symbol: N2
Synonyms: LIN
Description
Nitrogen is colorless, odorless, tasteless, nontoxic, inert and represents 78.08 percent of the atmosphere. Nitrogen is nonflammable and does not support combustion. It is slightly soluble in water and most other liquids. Nitrogen does not conduct heat and electricity well.
Uses
Nitrogen has a wide range of uses. As a gas it is used for heat treatment, blanketing of oxygen sensitive liquids, production of semiconductor electronic components, blowing of foam type plastic, food processing and packing, inhibition of aerobic bacteria growth and magnesium reduction of aluminum scrap. It is also used for pressurizing aircraft tires and emergency bottles to operate landing gear, as well as purging of air-conditioners, refrigerators, electronic devices, high-voltage compression cables and pipelines.
Liquid nitrogen is used for freezing of perishable foods, deflashing of rubber tires, cooling of concrete, cooling of electronic equipment, pulverizing plastics and simulating the conditions in outer space. Furthermore, liquid nitrogen can be used for freezing of liquids in pipelines for emergencies, low temperature stabilization and hardening of metals, preservation of blood, sperm and other biologicals and refrigeration of foods, as well as in missile and space programs.
8. LPG
Liquefied petroleum gas(also called LPG,LP Gas or Auto gas), is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles and increasingly replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce damage to the ozone layer.
Verities of LPG bought and sold include mixes that are primarily propane, mixes that are primarily butane, and the more common, mixes including both propane(60%) and butane (40%),depending on the season. In winter more propane, in summer more butane. Propylene and butylenes are usually also present in small concentration. A powerful odorant, ethanethiol, is added also that leaks can be detected easily. The international standard is EN 589.
9. Carbon Dioxide
Chemical Symbol: CO2
Synonyms: Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a colorless gas. It is slightly acidic taste. Carbon dioxide is shipped a its vapor pressure of 830 psig.
Uses:
CO2 liquid is used as refrigerant in mechanical in refrigeration system. Bulk of refrigeration uses employing CO2 utilizes Dry Ice. The largest and most popular use of Dry Ice is Food preservation in distribution. A substantial volume is used for carbonating beverages .Co2 is used as an inerting agent in fire extinguishers, canned food product to preventing oxidation It is also used in aerosol packaging for the operation of equipment where ordinary power is not available.
|
