Inert gas Inert gas An inert gas/noble gas is a gas which does not undergo chemical reactions under a set of given conditions. The noble gases often do not react with many substances, and were historically referred to as the inert gases. Inert gases are used generally to avoid unwanted chemical reactions degrading a sample. These undesirable chemical reactions are often oxidation and hydrolysis reactions with the oxygen and moisture in air. The term "inert gas" is context-dependent because several of the noble gases can be made to react under certain conditions. Purified argon and nitrogen gases are most commonly used as
Inert gas oxygen content of the tank atmosphere below 5% (on crude carriers, less for product carriers and gas tankers), thus making any air/hydrocarbon gas mixture in the tank too rich (too high a fuel to oxygen ratio) to ignite. IG is most important during discharging and during the ballast voyage when more hydrocarbon vapour is likely to be present in the tank atmosphere. Inert gas can also be used to purge the tank of the volatile atmosphere in preparation for gas freeing - replacing the atmosphere with breathable air - or vice versa. The flue gas system uses the boiler exhaust