Dry gases
Question: Recently I saw a large ore-carrying truck on which was a small
plate stating that the tyres on the truck were inflated with “dry nitrogen”.
Can you tell me what dry nitrogen is and why it would be used to inflate
heavy-duty truck tyres?
Answer: Road vehicle tyres are made from both natural and synthetic
vulcanised rubber, which perishes when exposed to water and oxygen due to oxides
and bacterial decay. By inflating tyres with nitrogen, and not air, which
contains oxygen, the perishing process is slowed.
The atmosphere is the cheapest source of nitrogen (about 80…
