Like the food packaging and chemical industries, the pharmaceutical industry also relies on nitrogen for various applications. In fact, pharmaceutical companies need reliable sources of high-purity nitrogen and can benefit from generating their own nitrogen internally to reduce costs while controlling quality and improving efficiency. Let us understand in detail below why nitrogen is a key element of the industry.

Why use nitrogen in the pharmaceutical industry?

Nitrogen, whose chemical formula is N₂, is a colorless and odorless gas. One of the greatest advantages of nitrogen is that it is a dry inert gas. This means it will not react with other elements. This makes N2 a very alternative substitute for harmful or other undesirable gases, especially oxygen. Nitrogen reduces the presence of oxygen, which can provide a catalyst for combustion or negatively affect product quality. It can also control the oxygen content in work areas, laboratories or entire facilities.

Nitrogen is also readily available! In fact, the atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, and the remaining percentage is allocated to several other trace gases. Finally, nitrogen can help maintain the sterility and cleanliness of the medicine.

How the pharmaceutical industry uses nitrogen

Examples of nitrogen used in pharmaceutical manufacturing include:

Nitrogen filling. Nitrogen charging reduces the presence of oxygen by replacing oxygen with nitrogen. This prevents rapid oxidation, corrosion and rust; helps prevent combustion; and ensures that high purity pharmaceutical ingredients remain pure during manufacturing.

Nitrogen purge. This is a widely used technology that can remove oxygen from the packaging before sealing to help preserve and protect the product during transportation and again protect the airborne contaminants. Examples of items that are often packaged with nitrogen include blister-packaged medicines, test kits used in doctors’ offices, blood supplies, specimen containers, and sterile medical equipment.

Product transfer. In pharmaceutical manufacturing, nitrogen is often used to move the reaction mixture from one container to another. It is very important to use safe inert gas to deliver liquid or powdered medicines because it can be dangerous if handled incorrectly. If exposed to oxygen or water vapor, many pharmaceutical ingredients may be damaged or even explode.