Industrial gas

Industrial gas is a group of gases that are commercially manufactured and sold for uses in other applications. These gases are mainly used in an industrial processes, such as steelmaking, medical applications, fertilizer, semiconductors, etc,. They may be both organic and inorganic, are produced by extraction from the air by a process of separation or are produced by chemical synthesis, and will take various forms such as compressed, liquid, or solid.

Types of industrial gases

 * acetylene (C2H2)
 * carbon dioxide (CO2)
 * carbon monoxide (CO)
 * chlorine (Cl2)
 * hydrogen (H2)
 * hydrogen chloride (HCl)
 * methane (CH4)
 * nitrous oxide (N2O)
 * propane (C3H8)
 * sulfur dioxide (SO2)
 * Air gases
 * argon (Ar)
 * nitrogen (N2)
 * oxygen (O2)
 * Rare gases
 * helium (He)
 * krypton (Kr)
 * neon (Ne)
 * xenon (Xe)

Applications

 * Chemical industry
 * Cutting and welding
 * Environmental protection
 * Food processing
 * Gases for breathing
 * Gases for safety and inerting
 * Glass, ceramics, other minerals
 * Medical gases
 * Metallurgy
 * Rubber, plastics, paint
 * Semiconductor industry
 * Water treatment

Distribution

 * Pipelines
 * Bulk transport (truck, rail, ship)
 * Cylinders (oxy-fuel welding and cutting, breathing, soda fountain)

Companies in the industrial gas business

 * Adsorptech Inc.
 * AGA AB (part of The Linde Group)
 * Airgas
 * Air Liquide
 * Air Products & Chemicals
 * Air Water
 * BASF
 * BOC (part of The Linde Group)
 * InterGas
 * The Linde Group (formerly Linde AG)
 * Praxair