Air and gases

Gas: a collective term for a physical condition of, in theory, all the substances which occur. But, in common parlance, we usually use the term ‘gas’ to describe only those substances which exist in the gaseous form under ‘normal’ conditions.

The air we breathe comprises oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, moisture and traces of various other gases. Atmospheric air is processed, if a purified form is required and it is even used in ‘air separation plants’ as the raw material for the production of other gases.
Besides the ‘permanent gases’, there are also the hydrocarbons, some of which are available in the form of natural gas and gas in crude oil (LPG is formed during refining). Some of these gases are produced by the chemical industry: naphtha crackers produce large amounts of ethylene and other olefins are produced by a variety of chemical processes.
All these gases are mainly used as raw materials for the chemical and plastic industry.

We also have the group of ‘medical gases’ with unusual properties such as medical air, medical oxygen, laughing gas and mixed gases.

Specialist equipment and knowledge is required to obtain unambiguous analytical results for all these gases.