LN₂ Articles

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is an epitaxial deposition technique which consists of growing layers of atomically thin materials onto a substrate. The MBE process takes place inside an ultra-high vacuum chamber to make materials with high purity and precision. To achieve such low pressures, liquid nitrogen (LN₂) cryoshrouds are used to pump out residual gases.

For more than 60 years, Vacuum Barrier Corporation (VBC) has been an industry leader in LN₂ dosing and piping systems; designing, engineering and fabricating systems for the food and beverage industries, such as bottled water, beer, wine and coffee; for semiconductor growth and testing; for pharmaceutical and biotech; and in the cannabis industry. VBC prides itself on investigating its clients’ unique applications and providing a custom solution, with a focus on being a one-stop source for complete, safe and defect-free LN₂ systems.

As the world continues to move at an ever-faster pace and from an increasingly conscious mindset, the food and beverages business is having to adapt to even more demanding supply chains and environmental considerations. Many of the challenges here resides in the cold chain – whether it’s the long range logistics of transporting chilled or frozen food products from source to supermarkets or distribution hubs, or perhaps the growing world of shortrange food delivery services and prepared meals dropped at the doorstep. There are challenges too, however, in pressurisation and packaging. More specifically, the pressurisation of noncarbonated beverages and the precise packaging of products at risk of spoilage. These are vital considerations before foodstuffs even enter the cold chain.

The air we breathe is home to a free, abundant and primary weapon that wineries use to combat the ever-present threat of oxidation. That weapon is nitrogen, which makes up about 80% of the Earth’s atmosphere. Winemakers harness the benefits of this colorless, odorless, inert gas to prolong the shelf life of their products by guarding them during production and storage. In short, nitrogen protects what is most important to winemakers—the wine’s taste, aroma, and quality. The question of how nitrogen functions best in any winery is answered by companies that are experts in the field. Among them is Vacuum Barrier Corporation, a cryogenics industry leader based in Woburn, Massachusetts. VBC designs, engineers and fabricates liquid nitrogen dosing and piping systems for wineries, breweries and other industries across the globe.

Even as the craft brewing industry has grown and beers have become more diverse, the struggles when packaging beer have remained, with oxygen being the main cause. A reactive element, oxygen tends to be absorbed by beer, which reduces shelf life and can alter flavor and aroma profiles that a brewmaster worked hard to achieve. Vacuum Barrier Corp. combats the effects of oxygen by using nitrogen, an inert gas. By replacing oxygen in a container with nitrogen, the unique taste and bouquet of the beer can be maintained, the company says.

Gaseous nitrogen has been used to expel oxygen and increase shelf life of products. Liquid nitrogen can serve this same purpose while reducing nitrogen consumption by 80% over traditional gas tunnels. Whether pressurizing or inerting food or beverage containers, handling liquid nitrogen on a production line poses challenges. In today’s competitive food and beverage market, most companies are looking to reduce costs. One way to do this is to reduce the cost of packaging used in their production facilities. Even small savings on container costs can result in large overall savings because of the quantity of units processed. To accomplish this per unit savings, containers are made more light-weight by removing material.