On-site nitrogen generation membranes for ships & marine

The marine industry is another industry where nitrogen is required in various areas. In the area of ​​cargo ships, nitrogen plays an important role in the safe transport of various goods. Cargo holds are pressurized with nitrogen for general inertization, fire and explosion prevention to create a safe atmosphere in ships' cargo tanks. At the same time, perishable goods can be protected when using nitrogen on cargo ships.

In times of global trade, various raw materials such as oil, building materials such as cement and flammable chemicals are transported by very large cargo ships. There is always a risk of explosion and fire. To avoid this, the freight compartments or liquid tanks are pressurized or flushed with nitrogen. Nitrogen as a classic inert gas is blown into the individual cargo tanks to reduce the air and oxygen content and thus create a non-flammable atmosphere in the tank. The nitrogen replaces the tank atmosphere either by diluting or even displacing the original atmosphere.

When food is transported by ship, the cargo hold is filled with nitrogen to prevent the food from oxidizing prematurely. This way perishable food lasts longer. Due to its inertness compared to oxygen, the supplied nitrogen also reduces enzymatic reactions with oxygen.

Nitrogen also plays another role in the marine industry when it comes to LNG/liquefied natural gas. Ships that run on LNG require nitrogen to inert their fuel tanks. This avoids a possible risk of explosion. LNG can also be transported by ship. Here, too, nitrogen flushing is used for inerting during transport, as already described above. Nitrogen is also used to clean the tanks or pipes that are no longer used are flushed with nitrogen to flush out old gas residues, which in turn create explosive atmosphere.

Evonik's SEPURAN® N₂ membrane has been especially developed for nitrogen generation combining low air consumption at all temperature levels with high nitrogen capacity. Efficient air separation and nitrogen generation with SEPURAN® N₂ is especially suitable when spaces are being blanketed to achieve an inert atmosphere. They combine low air consumption with high nitrogen capacity. The benefits for you: you need a small compressor, only a few modules, and operational costs are low.