Buffer gas Buffer gas A buffer gas is an inert or nonflammable gas. In the Earth's atmosphere, nitrogen acts as a buffer gas. A buffer gas adds pressure to a system and controls the speed of combustion with any oxygen present. Any inert gas such as helium, neon, or argon will serve as a buffer gas. Buffer gases are commonly used in many applications from high pressure discharge lamps to reduce line width of microwave transitions in alkali atoms. A buffer gas usually consists of atomically inert gases such as helium, argon, and nitrogen which are the primary gases used. Krypton, neon,
Inerting (gas) of liquid is drawn from a tank, a similar volume of air will enter the tank's headspace, potentially creating an ignitable atmosphere. The inerting systems use an inert gas generator to supply inert make-up gas instead of air. This procedure is often referred to as "inerting". Technically, the procedure ensures that the atmosphere in the tank's headspace remains unignitable. The gas mixture in the headspace is not "inert" per se, it's just unignitable. Because of its content of flammable vapors, it will burn if mixed with air. Only if enough inert gas is supplied as part of a "purge-out-of-service" procedure,