Liquid Nitrogen Cooling

Liquid nitrogen is used in a growing number of innovative cooling and freezing technologies, many of which are found in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It is commonly used to provide refrigeration due to its wide availability, low-cost, and inert properties.  It is also a practical cryogen for most low-temperature applications because of its extremely low boiling temperature (–195.8°C) and high refrigeration capacity at atmospheric pressure. Even at elevated pressures, the thermal properties of liquid nitrogen make it a very effective refrigeration medium to rapidly cool down processes to very low temperatures. This article provides an overview of established and emerging nitrogen cooling and freezing methods and applications found in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.