Inert gas In food packaging, inert gases are used as a passive preservative, in contrast to active preservatives like sodium benzoate (an antimicrobial) or BHT (an antioxidant). Historical documents may also be stored under an inert gas to avoid degradation. For example, the original documents of the U.S. Constitution is stored under humidified argon. Helium was previously used, but it was less suitable because it diffuses out of the case more quickly than argon. Inert gases are often used in the chemical industry. In a chemical manufacturing plant, reactions can be conducted under inert gas to minimize fire hazards or unwanted reactions.
Inert gas In such plants and in oil refineries, transfer lines and vessels can be purged with inert gas as a fire and explosion prevention measure. At the bench scale, chemists perform experiments on air-sensitive compounds using air-free techniques developed to handle them under inert gas. Inert gas is produced on board crude oil carriers (above 8,000 tonnes)(from Jan 1, 2016) by using either a flue gas system or by burning kerosene in a dedicated inert gas generator. The inert gas system is used to prevent the atmosphere in cargo tanks or bunkers from coming into the explosive range. IG keeps the