Sparging (chemistry)
Encyclopedia
In chemistry
, sparging, also known as gas flushing in metallurgy
, is a technique which involves bubbling a chemically inert gas, such as nitrogen
, argon
, or helium
, through a liquid. This can be used to remove dissolved gases
(e.g. oxygen
) from the liquid.
Solvents used in high performance liquid chromatography
(HPLC) are often sparged with helium.
In chemical engineering
, sparging can also be a method to remove low-boiling liquids from a solution. The low-boiling components tend to evaporate more rapidly, hence they may be removed from the bulk solution containing higher-boiling components. It is an alternative to distillation
, and it does not require heat.
This technique is also used in environmental chemistry
to extract the oil contaminants from subsoil water and the ground.
In metallurgy, this process is used to remove dissolved gases from the melt
prior to the material being processed. For example, before casting aluminium alloys, argon bubbles are injected into liquid aluminium using a rotary degasser. The resulting argon bubbles will rise to the surface bringing with them a quantity of the dissolved hydrogen. This degassing treatment reduces the occurrence of hydrogen gas porosity
.
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, sparging, also known as gas flushing in metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, is a technique which involves bubbling a chemically inert gas, such as nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
, argon
Argon
Argon is a chemical element represented by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table . Argon is the third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.93%, making it more common than carbon dioxide...
, or helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
, through a liquid. This can be used to remove dissolved gases
Degasification
Degasification is the removal of dissolved gases from liquids, especially water or aqueous solutions, in the fields of science and engineering. There are numerous possible methods for such removal of gases from solids....
(e.g. oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
) from the liquid.
Solvents used in high performance liquid chromatography
High performance liquid chromatography
High-performance liquid chromatography , HPLC, is a chromatographic technique that can separate a mixture of compounds and is used in biochemistry and analytical chemistry to identify, quantify and purify the individual components of the mixture.HPLC typically utilizes different types of stationary...
(HPLC) are often sparged with helium.
In chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
, sparging can also be a method to remove low-boiling liquids from a solution. The low-boiling components tend to evaporate more rapidly, hence they may be removed from the bulk solution containing higher-boiling components. It is an alternative to distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
, and it does not require heat.
This technique is also used in environmental chemistry
Environmental chemistry
Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source...
to extract the oil contaminants from subsoil water and the ground.
In metallurgy, this process is used to remove dissolved gases from the melt
Melt
Melt can refer to:* Melting, in physics, the process of heating a solid substance to a liquid*Melt , the semi-liquid material used in steelmaking and glassblowing*Melt inclusions, a feature of igneous rock...
prior to the material being processed. For example, before casting aluminium alloys, argon bubbles are injected into liquid aluminium using a rotary degasser. The resulting argon bubbles will rise to the surface bringing with them a quantity of the dissolved hydrogen. This degassing treatment reduces the occurrence of hydrogen gas porosity
Hydrogen gas porosity
Hydrogen gas porosity is an aluminium casting defect under the form of a porosity or void in an aluminium casting caused by a high level of hydrogen gas dissolved in the aluminium at liquid phase...
.