The keys to generating food grade nitrogen

Nitrogen plays an essential role in keeping our food fresh and increasing its shelf life. In a process called Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), it displaces ambient air in food containers. This keeps other gases, especially oxygen, away from the food and slows its degradation. Therefore, if you are operating in the food and beverage industry, you need a steady supply of food grade nitrogen. It keeps your chips crispy, your coffee flavorful and your wine tasty.

What does food grade nitrogen mean?

But what is food grade nitrogen? Compressed air or industrial gases, like nitrogen, that come into contact with food have to meet stringent quality standards. This protects the consumers who end up ingesting these products.

The goal is to keep contaminants like moisture, particles, microorganisms or oil residue away from the food. This is crucial to preserving it and preventing the build-up of mold or fungi.

Anybody who cooks or eats knows the potential problems that these contaminants and oxygen can cause. That is why we cover up food, put it in tin foil or saran wrap. We also know the harm moisture, the most common contaminant, can do if it comes into contact with food items like flour or sugar.

How do you keep your nitrogen pure?

There are two ways of getting food grade nitrogen. One is to purchase it from a vendor. However, that is expensive and has several other disadvantages: It poses logistical challenges and could result in supply bottlenecks. In addition, the heavy, pressurized nitrogen containers are an occupational safety hazard.

The second method is to generate nitrogen on site. This is much less expensive, ensures a steady supply and lets you choose the required nitrogen purity.

For on-site nitrogen generation, you need a generator and a compressor. The latter compresses ambient air and sends it to the generator, which separates the nitrogen from all other gases – especially oxygen. Since air always contains contaminants, it is essential to filter them out early in this process. Otherwise, they will reduce the quality and purity of the nitrogen and come into contact with the food items.

This means that an effective air treatment is the key to keeping the nitrogen pure. In fact, several organizations have identified the compressed air used in processing and packaging a possible threat to food air safety. These include the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Safe Quality Food Institute and the British Retail Consortium. 

A quick guide to air treatment

Fortunately, there are lots of ways to eliminate the contaminants from your compressed air and ensure you produce food grade nitrogen.

Pneumatech offers all of the necessary air treatment products and options.

From different types of filters to air dryers, we help you get the job done, protect your food items and your end customers.

For example, you can count on our coalescing filters to remove wet particulates and oil aerosols from the compressed air. Sterile filters and dust removal filters take care of particulates, and microorganisms while adsorption filters eliminate oil vapor.

These filters can be installed throughout the compressed air system. All of them have been fully tested and qualified according to the latest ISO8573 and ISO12500 standards.

Then there are different types of dryers that get rid of the moisture that poses the greatest threat by volume.

This includes the innovative Pneumatech PH HE desiccant dryer series. The dryers use a solid desiccant. That offers all of the benefits of desiccant dryers while eliminating the drawbacks of older models featuring loose desiccant beads. 

Your reliable air treatment partner

To find out more about our different air treatment products, simply contact a Ash Air expert. They will answer all of your nitrogen questions.

View 2 Products

Oxygen Generators

Pneumatech gives oxygen to your business. With the PPOG series, Pneumatech offers an attractive replacement for traditional oxygen supply with very interesting returns on investment.

The PPOG1-120 series uses Pressure Swing Adsorption technology to extract oxygen from compressed air, resulting in oxygen purity levels up to 95%.

The PPOG 2-18 HE series is a true game changer in on-site oxygen generation. 30% more efficient than traditional oxygen generators, the PPOG HE gives you the oxygen volume, purity and reliability you need at a massively reduced cost and a smaller environmental footprint.

PSA Oxygen Generators
With the PPOG series, Pneumatech offers an attractive replacement for traditional oxygen supply with very interesting returns on investment.

View 2 Products

Nitrogen Generators

Discover the inner workings, versatile applications, and numerous benefits of an N2 generator. This revolutionary machine effectively separates nitrogen from compressed air, comprised of 78% N2 and 21% O2. A gas generator stands out as the easiest, most flexible, and economically viable method for securing your own nitrogen supply. Elevate your professional approach and embrace the efficiency and sustainability offered by on-site nitrogen generation, exclusively available in New Zealand.

Sub Categories

Membrane Nitrogen Gas Generators PSA Nitrogen Gas Generators High Pressure Nitrogen Skids
View 3 Products

Refrigerated Air Dryers

Ash Air has a range of quality cycling and non-cycling Pneumatech refrigerated dryers for your air compressors.Our non-cycling Pneumatech refrigerated dryers offer a reliable and economic solution for removing moisture from your compressed air system. These refrigerated dryers for air compressors are easy to install, offer energy savings, prevent pressure losses, are equipped with rotary compressors and R410A refrigerant, and have improved connectivity features.

The Ash Air collection of very dependable cycling Pneumatech refrigerated dryers offer easy-to-use controllers, are easy to install with low maintenance needs, and are energy efficient with zero-loss drains.

We also supply a range of superior performance refrigerated dryers for air compressors with variable speed technology that matches energy consumption to the actual compressed air demand, have stable pressure dew points, and are available with both air-cooled and water-cooled condensers.

View 5 Products

Desiccant Air Dryers

Our innovative desiccant dryers give customers efficient protection against the presence of any humidity in the air, which often is the source of pipe corrosion and decreased efficiency of equipment and tools.

The Ash Air range of advanced technology 360-1080 m3/hr and 1188-10800 m3/hr adsorption air dryers are for customers who have a focus on energy efficiency and low operating costs, while maintaining the highest standards in air purity. Our Pneumatech blower purge air dryers use heated blower purge air to remove moisture from the desiccant material, which means no purge loss during regeneration.

View 1 Products

Breathing Air Dryers

Here at Ash Air, we offer BA 15-310 HE Breathing Air Purifiers. The Pneumatech solution for Industrial Breathing Air applications, build to exceed standards. The Breathing Air Dryer range assures safe working environment in a wide range of applications. Built to exceed standards, Breathing Air Dryers provide certified breathing air, even in situations with polluted intake air to ensure personnel safety at all times.

The Pneumatech solution for Industrial Breathing Air applications, build to exceed standards. The Breathing Air Dryer range assures safe working environment in a wide range of applications. Built to exceed standards, Breathing Air Dryers provide certified breathing air, even in situations with polluted intake air to ensure personnel safety at all times.


Do you have an idea for our #expertcorner?Β Let us know!

Useful links:

Book Your Compressor Service



Who we are and how Ash Air can help your business!

Ash Air has been around in New Zealand since 1979, and we’ve grown into a nationwide company with international support and a reputation for quality and reliability.We look after all things compressed air for your business!

  • Reciprocating, Screw, air compressors
  • Vacuum pumps
  • Nitrogen
  • An extensive line of air treatment components

Ash Air's range of Chicago Pneumatic, Alup, Pneumatech, and Quincy compressors are used extensively around the world in industries ranging from oil and gas to food, automotive and farming, and we bring you these world class compressors here in the land of the long white cloud.Our technicians are compressed air equipment experts and are dedicated to addressing customer needs. Supported by a 13 locations nationwide, Ash Air offers one of the widest selections of compressed air equipment and parts available today in New Zealand.

Reliability and Efficiency

With Ash Air compressors, you can count on reliability and high performance for even the most demanding applications. We focus our efforts on the following:

  • Increasing uptime
  • Reducing unexpected repairs
  • Reducing energy consumption
  • Improving the cleanliness of compressed air


Talk to the team today:  CONTACT US CONTACT US

Read more from our #expertcorner


Just like any other equipment, a compressed air installation also requires the necessary maintenance work during its entire lifespan. Even though maintenance costs are only about 5 to 10% of a machine's annual operating costs, failure to budget for maintenance can have potentially disastrous consequences. …


The air dyer is one of the most ignored cooler in the system. A dirty condenser will cause water in the lines, or worse it will cause complete dryer failure. …


Using nitrogen is not about fully replacing CO2, but it can reduce their consumption of CO2 by close to 70%. Using nitrogen is about sustainability. Creating your own nitrogen is easy and will reduce the use of a greenhouse gas, which is better for the environment. It will also save you money as early as month one adding that savings to your bottom line. …


A question that is occasionally asked by our customers to Ash Air is 'what is the cost of compressed air?'Β  This article looks at the product costs involved with compressed air, as well as minimising the energy cost of compressors and cost allocation. When looking at these factors, we need to realise what causes dropped efficiency of your compressor, leading to increased costs of compressed air. …


You may have great fall protection measures in place to keep employees safe when working at height, but what about their co-workers below? Dropped tools and other falling objects are a major hazard – and one that isn’t always fully addressed.Β  …


Providing a safe working environment for operators is essential, especially when using pneumatic tools and compressed air. If there is a failure in the air network and the hose is not adequately clamped, the resulting whiplash could be devastating. Failure to follow best practice can result in injuries, associated production downtime and decreased productivity. …


A common questions asked is why do I need an air dryer for my compressor? Typically, air compressors produce water, and although the water can be drained, there can still be aerosol and vapour droplets that are present. This is because water cannoet be compressed. Water can damage your compressor by corroding the valves, pipes and machinery controls, which will cost you time and money to resolve. In the long run, the cost of a new compressor is a small price to pay compared to the loss of production that could potentially arise due to water damage in your compressor.





…


Air compressors can fail for an assortment of different reasons: Normal wear and tear, lifespan and age of the unit, poor maintenance, power surge, install issues are just a few the come to mind. Check out this blog to find out our top 7 tips to ensure your compressor is looked after!  …


That cold, rainy, and in some places icey New Zealand winter is upon us, and with the following air compressor tips, your air system will be prepared with the preferred temperatures, despite the weather outside. Regardless of whether or not it actually snows or freezes up where you live, most winterisation service recommendations are also basic, solid maintenance procedures that will help extend the life and operational efficiencies of air compressors regardless of whether you live in Queenstown or Northland. …


If you're wondering what an air compressor actually is, you've come to the right place. Simply, air compressors convert power in to air that is pressurised which is then used to power air tools such as spray guns. Air compressors are used in a wide range of applications, so naturally if you want one that will be designed for spray painting your vehicle, you want a compressor specifically made for spray guns! This way your compressor will be able to provide the right amount of power to perform the job. …


Compressed air plays a fundamental role in industrial activities. Depending on the type of application, the energy cost of producing compressed air can be very high. Below are some tips to save on you compressor bill. …


Air Compressors are essential tools in a variety of industrial settings. No matter what industry you are in having a reliable air compressor can be a crucial part of getting the job done efficiently. However, like an investment, air compressors require upkeep and maintenance, and eventually will need to be upgraded. But how do you know when it’s time to upgrade your air compressor? Here are some things you need to consider. …


When it comes to laser cutting and other industrial processes, the choice of assist gas is crucial in achieving optimal results. Nitrogen and oxygen are commonly utilized as assist gases, each with its own unique properties and applications. Understanding the characteristics of both gases, will help you to make an informed decision to ensure precision, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in your operations. …

Show More