This blog post was originally posted by Yokogawa.

In almost any chemical production facility, various substances frequently have to be stored temporarily in tanks or tank farms. Depending on the chemical substance involved, this circumstance can sometimes entail a risk of explosion. Elementary protection must therefore be provided to rule out the possibility of explosion. Ideally, this protection should prevent an explosive gas mixture from forming in the tank’s gas phase in the first place. This can be achieved by inerting the gas phase by blanketing it with nitrogen.