Air time: ASU developments are changing

Air separation units (ASUs) are at the heart of the industrial gases business. Towering structures with clean lines and vast lengths of piping, these mega-facilities are synonymous with the image of the industry, just like the cryogenic tankers that ship the gases produced.

Oxygen, nitrogen, and argon are the primary products of an ASU, but these facilities are integral to the production of nearly all industrial gases. A cryogenic ASU exploits the fact that air can be cooled sufficiently for it to become a mixture of gases and liquids and the difference in their boiling temperatures allows the component gases to be separated by distillation – ultimately producing a an array of air gases namely oxygen, nitrogen and argon for use as industrial and specialty gas products.