Air consists of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, which liquefies at -183℃ and solidifies at - 218.9℃.

At atmospheric pressure, liquid oxygen only takes up 1/854 of its gaseous volume. This allows large quantities of oxygen to be transported and stored in cryogenic, liquid form.

The most important property of oxygen is its reactivity. There are only few elements with which oxygen will not react. Oxidation and combustion processes with oxygen-enriched atmospheres take place much faster than in air atmosphere. This property makes oxygen indispensable for a large number of industrial applications.

Because oxygen is also required for the metabolism of many organisms and is highly soluble in water, it is suitable for numerous applications involving water conditioning and environmental technology.

Nitrogen makes up roughly 78% of the volume of the air we breathe. At standard temperature, nitrogen is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. It is non-toxic and chemically inert - i.e. exhibits a very low reactivity - at low temperatures. Nitrogen is non-flammable and capable of suppressing combustion processes. Furthermore, it has an asphyxiating effect, as it displaces the oxygen required for breathing. Under atmospheric pressure, nitrogen liquefies at -196℃.

Nitrogen's properties require an observance of special safety guidelines (issued by industrial-gas associations like IGV, EIGA, CGA) during the handling of this gas.

Nitrogen has numerous applications in the industrial and research sectors. In most of these applications, it is used either physically (as a refrigerant) or chemically (as an inert gas), i.e. it is returned unchanged to the atmosphere after usage.

Hydrogen is the lightest gas of all. The most important techniques of producing hydrogen are catalytic reforming (steam reforming) and chlorine-alkali electrolysis. Due to its physical and chemical properties, hydrogen can be used for a large number of industrial purposes: As a fuel gas for special applications, and as a protective gas for heat treatment, foodstuffs technology and electronics. Hydrogen's high thermal conductivity also makes it suitable for use as a coolant for power generators, for instance.

More than two-thirds of the hydrogen produced worldwide is used by the chemical industry. Most of this quantity is employed for the synthesis of ammonia and methanol. The chemical industry also makes use of numerous hydrogenation techniques, sometimes referred to as hydrofining or hydrotreating. Of late, hydrogen has also been discussed as a future source of alternative energy.

Special properties of carbon dioxide, such as its inertness and high water solubility, make CO₂ an ideal aid in numerous aspects of daily life and environmental technology. In foodstuffs technology, for example, CO₂ is used to carbonate many beverages. It is just as useful for conditioning drinking water and neutralizing waste water. As a cryogenic liquid or in solid form (dry ice), CO₂ is used as a refrigerant at temperatures as low as -79℃.

Carbon dioxide is obtained partly from natural sources and partly from industrial exhaust gases. Economically significant quantities of carbon dioxide are generated as a by product of synthetic gas and ethylene oxide.

Natural sources of CO₂ are located especially in volcanic areas. Here, CO₂ sometimes exists even at the surface, or wells are drilled to access known deposits.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an important intermediate product in the chemical industry.

There are two main techniques for producing carbon monoxide:

• Exothermic conversion of media containing carbon using oxygen, i.e. partial oxidation (POx).
• Catalytic conversion of light hydrocarbons with steam, i.e. steam reforming (SR) or - in the simplest case - steam-methane reforming (SMR).

Carbon monoxide is used in different degrees of purity in a large number of processes. In standard quality, it is used to manufacture phosgene and acetic acid. In extremely pure form, it is used as a component of test and calibration gases, and for manufacturing synthetic diamonds.

Messer offers carbon monoxide in standard quality for technical use in cylinders or cylinder bundles. Modern trailers also allow a transportation of large quantities for different processes in the chemical industry.

Acetylene is a high-performance fuel gas with a wide range of applications - a true all-purpose gas in gas welding and cutting technology. Acetylene is always the right choice, whether for welding, cutting, flame cleaning, flame spraying or gouging. For special applications such as flame cutting, however, Messer also offers other fuel gases like Grieson© which are somewhat more advantageous in terms of supply (storage and transport). Traditionally, acetylene is produced through a reaction of calcium carbide with water. Today, though, Messer supplies European customers mainly with acetylene obtained from petrochemical processes. Other fuel gases supplied by Messer are also petrochemical by-products.

Gas shielding arc welding by means of its variants TIG, plasma MIG and MAG plays an important role in arc welding technology. Shielding gases greatly influence the economy and quality of welding seams produced.

Whereas on the introduction of gas shielding arc welding only a few single gases were commonly used - for example, pure argon for WIG and MIG welding, and pure carbon dioxide for MAG welding - gas blends dominate this area today.

A wide range of such standardized gas mixtures has become available, because oxygen, helium, hydrogen and nitrogen can now be used as mixture components in addition to argon and CO₂. The various shielding gases are classified in the European standard designated "Shielding Gases for Arc-Welding and Cutting". Messer's advisory service welding & cutting provides expertise and performs demonstrations on-location.

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