The colorful balloons on the streets and the neon signs at night all rely on inert gas. The inert gases provided by Fullcryo are widely used in daily life and industrial fields.
Inert gases, also known as noble gases or elements of Group 18. We all learned in chemistry class that the outermost electron orbitals are completely filled. This electronic structure makes them highly chemically stable under normal conditions and they hardly react with other substances, thus they are called “lazy” gases.
From the perspective of physical properties, noble gases are usually colorless, odorless and tasteless gases, and all six noble gases have the characteristic of being non-flammable. In many scenarios, we always think of safe and reliable gases.
The inert gases we come into contact with more frequently in our daily lives include the following six types:
Helium is widely recognized as the lightest inert gas.
Ne: Neon is an noble gases known for its “luminescence”.
Ar: Argon is the most abundant inert gas in the air.
Kr: Krypton gas is often used as an inert gas in high-end lighting.
Xe: Xenon, an noble gases that plays a significant role in the field of medical imaging;
Radon gas is a radioactive inert gas.
You may have also heard of another artificially synthesized element, Og, with an atomic number of 118. Currently, it is temporarily classified as an noble gases. However, due to its high synthesis difficulty and poor stability, it has not yet found practical application scenarios and will not be elaborated on in this article.
Neon and helium refining equipment from Fullcryo
The inertness of inert gases is not useless, just like the saying in the Chinese classical philosophical classic, the Tao Te Ching, “The useless gives rise to the great.” On the contrary, the stability of noble gases is precisely where their core value lies.
In fact, inert gases have a wide range of applications and strong cross-field applicability. It is very safe when used correctly.
For instance, in many scenarios, we need a “non-intrusive” environment to avoid some chemical reactions. For instance, in food packaging, it is necessary to prevent oxidation and deterioration. When welding metals, rare gases are required to avoid the reaction of metals with oxygen and prevent rusting.
Due to this peaceful chemical property, inert gases have become “all-rounders” that span both daily life and industry.
Most people think that gases are far away from us and only exist in laboratories or factories. In fact, noble gases can be seen everywhere in our daily life.
When it comes to helium, the most immediate impression that comes to mind is the helium balloons at parties. Helium has a density much lower than that of air, so it can float in the sky. Moreover, it is not flammable and is safer than hydrogen, which was once used (flammable and explosive). Helium-filled balloons have become common.
In the medical field, helium often mixes with oxygen to help asthma patients breathe smoothly. Therefore, many medical experts blend them to create a “helium-oxygen mixture”. This is because helium has stronger fluidity than ordinary air, which can help patients breathe more easily and relieve the symptoms of breathing difficulties.
The most well-known use of neon gas is to make neon signs. Under normal circumstances, neon gas emits a bright orange-red light when electrified. The orange light has penetrating power and can make the signs of shops and restaurants stand out conspicuously. By applying different phosphors to the inner walls of glass tubes, neon gas can also present various colors such as red, green and blue.
Did you know? The interiors of ordinary incandescent bulbs and halogen lamps are mostly filled with argon gas. As argon does not react with tungsten filament, it can effectively prevent the tungsten filament from oxidizing and melting at high temperatures, and at the same time slow down the evaporation rate of the tungsten filament, thereby extending the service life of the bulb by 2 to 3 times.
Argon is also often filled in the interlayer of double-glazed insulating glass. Its thermal conductivity is lower than that of air, which can effectively reduce heat transfer through Windows.
Krypton inert gas is often used to make high-end energy-saving bulbs, such as the headlights and taillights of cars and spotlights in shopping malls. Compared with argon, krypton can make bulbs emit brighter light, consume less energy and have a longer service life, making it suitable for scenarios with high lighting requirements.
Many mid-to-high-end cars use xenon lamps for their headlights. Xenon noble gases emits white light close to natural light under the action of high-voltage current, with a brightness three times that of ordinary halogen lamps and a longer illumination distance. Radon gas does not have direct practical uses like other noble gases, but it naturally exists in soil, rocks and air.
The most important thing to remember is that helium has an extremely low boiling point (-268.9℃), and it is currently the only gas that can achieve “ultra-low temperature cooling” at normal pressure. In the fields of medical equipment manufacturing (such as MRI nuclear magnetic resonance machines) and quantum computing, ultra-low temperature environments are precisely needed to make materials exhibit “superconductivity” (zero resistance). Helium can provide a stable low-temperature environment for the superconducting magnets and quantum chips in MRI, ensuring the normal operation of the equipment.
1.Semiconductor manufacturing
The manufacturing process of semiconductor chips requires the use of rare gases. The purity of the gas is required to be extremely high. Even a trace amount of impurities can cause the chip to fail. In key processes such as photolithography and deposition of chips, argon gas is used to create an “oxygen-free and dust-free” closed environment to prevent silicon wafers from reacting with air and ensure the performance and yield of chips.
In the welding of precision components such as aerospace and automotive engines, “tungsten inert gas welding (TIG welding)” is often adopted, and argon noble gases is the main shielding gas. It can precisely cover the welding area, prevent metal from oxidizing at high temperatures, ensure the welding accuracy and strength of components, and meet the requirements of high-end manufacturing.
Neon gas is often used to make “wavelength meters” – a device for measuring the frequency of radio waves. Neon gas emits a stable spectrum at a specific frequency. By detecting the changes in the spectrum, the signal frequency can be accurately measured to ensure the stable transmission of communication signals.
Krypton gas can be used as fuel for satellite propulsion systems. It is highly stable and can generate thrust through ionization in space, helping satellites adjust their orbits and maintain their attitudes. Moreover, in the field of industrial photography, the flash of high-speed cameras is often filled with krypton gas, providing clear images for scientific research and industrial inspection.
In the field of scientific research, xenon gas is often used in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy analysis. It can interact with sample molecules, helping scientists analyze the molecular structure of substances and playing a significant role in fields such as chemistry and biopharmaceuticals. In addition, xenon gas also has a bactericidal effect and can be used for disinfecting laboratory equipment.
In the medical field, the radioactivity of radon gas can be used for radiotherapy to treat cancer. At present, radon noble gases is mostly used in the treatment of local tumors such as skin cancer and cervical cancer.
In the field of geological exploration, scientists can predict earthquakes by monitoring the changes in radon gas content in soil. Radon gas can also be used to track air flow and study geological faults, providing support for earth science research.
Inert gases such as helium and xenon are present in relatively low amounts in nature (helium only accounts for 0.0005% of the air), making their extraction and purification difficult and resulting in high costs. For instance, the price of one cubic meter of liquid helium can reach tens of thousands of yuan, which limits its application in some low-cost scenarios. Fullcryo independently developed a helium extraction system to extract precious helium from the BOG of LNG plants, bringing industrial benefits.
As experts in the cryogenic field, we also supply neon-helium refining units based on small cryogenic refrigerators. The inert gas system of Fullcryo adopts an integrated skid-mounted design, significantly reducing on-site workload. It can change the traditional high-pressure throttling refrigeration method and greatly reduce the operating energy consumption. The extraction rate of krypton and xenon is over 90%, the purity of krypton is over 99.9995%, and the purity of xenon is over 99.9995%
The system is safe and reliable: For the krypton-poor xenon liquid, a long-cycle reciprocating liquid pump is used to pressurize it to above 5.5MPa before vaporization, and then pressurize it to supercritical pressure to ensure that hydrocarbon substances will not be concentrated and precipitated from the liquid oxygen.
Fullcryo is building a noble gases plant with an annual supply capacity of Kr: 10,000 Sm3, Xe: 2,400 Sm3, Ne: 150,000 Sm3. At present, rare gas projects are being planned and constructed in many countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Europe and the United States, laying out the global rare gas business. Among them, the South Korean krypton and xenon refining project is representative. Fullcryo has jointly established a krypton and xenon refining plant with its South Korean partner, mainly supplying South Korean semiconductor customers. The initial plan is to produce 1,000 cubic meters of Xe and 6,000 cubic meters of Kr annually. It is now in full production and operation.
Inert gases are usually stored in high-pressure gaseous or liquid form (for example, helium needs to be stored in liquid form at -268.9 ℃), which poses strict requirements for containers and transportation equipment. Storage containers need to have high strength and low-temperature resistance. During transportation, they should also avoid collision and leakage, otherwise it may cause safety accidents or gas waste.
Fullcryo offers solutions for cryogenic noble gases storage and transportation. We provide and customize various cryogenic gas storage tanks and operation guidance for customers worldwide. Our industries include the oil and gas sector and the new energy sector, ensuring storage safety and production stability in these industries.
