Liquid Nitrogen Tank Temperature Range

Two separate medical centers storing reproductive tissues had failures in their liquid nitrogen tank monitoring.

Liquid nitrogen tank temperature range.

Last month was a wake up call for cryogenic tank failures in fertility clinics in the us. Because the liquid to gas expansion ratio of nitrogen is 1 694 at 20 c 68 f a tremendous amount of force can be generated if liquid nitrogen is vaporized in an enclosed space. It is liquefied under high pressure condition and can expand to a very large volume of gas. American biotech supply s box rack storage tanks have been specifically engineered to provide cryogenic vapor temperatures throughout the tank well below the critical 135 c range.

What is liquid nitrogen. Over this temperature range liquid nitrogen looks much like boiling water. Not only is this a devastating loss for clients but the facilities must endure a. Liquid nitrogen is very cold.

In one clinic their initial estimate of 2 000 total affected eggs and embryos later doubled to over 4 000. Because liquid nitrogen in a usual setting is boiling its usual temperature is 77 k. Below 63 k it freezes into solid nitrogen. As cryogenic means related to very low temperature it is an extremely cold material.

In an incident on january 12 2006 at texas a m university the pressure relief devices of a tank of liquid nitrogen were malfunctioning and later sealed as a result of the subsequent pressure buildup the tank. Liquid nitrogen is commonly used across monash university for the purposes of snap freezing and long term storage of biological samples and in cold traps on vacuum lines equipment. At normal atmospheric pressure nitrogen is a liquid between 63 k and 77 2 k 346 f and 320 44 f.