Cultivation

Starting with the first greenhouses, gases have been used to augment the growth and extend the viable storage life of many types of plants. As food technology has advanced in the 20th century, the understanding of exactly how gases work to assist in plant yield and preservation contributes to advancements in production and storage.

Ammonia

Most of the ammonia produced (80%) is used in agriculture as fertilizer. It can also be applied directly to soil as a plant nutrient. Ammonia binds airborne nitrogen and helps make it available in the soil. Ammonia is also used as a refrigerant gas and for purification of water supplies.

Ethylene

While it is most produced in ripening fruit, ethylene is also a byproduct of exhaust from engines, smoke, rotting vegetation and natural gas leaks; all of which can be harnessed and used for agricultural purposes. The agriculture industry has found a way to use this gas in high concentrations to quicken the natural ripening process of produce. By hastening the process in controlled ripening rooms, producers can get their products in the hands of consumers in a timely and economical way. Common produce that relies on hastened ripening before wholesale includes:

  • - Bananas
  • - Avocados
  • - Tomatoes
  • - Pears
  • - Mangoes
  • - Citrus fruits (de-greening)

Produce is often harvested long before it is ready to be eaten. Before heading to the grocery store, pallets of produce are taken to be ripened in humidity, temperature, and gas treated rooms. These rooms are about the size of storage units. When it arrives at the warehouse, it is stacked, just as it arrives, and carefully treated for ripening and de-greening. Depending on the type of produce and their current condition, different temperatures, levels of humidity and amounts of gases will be used. Humidity is usually increased to 85-95%, and temperatures are set around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Small amounts of carbon dioxide and larger amounts of ethylene are then pumped into the room for several hours. It is important that these rooms are well ventilated with vents and fans for safe air circulation, both for the quality of produce and the safety of employees when they return. Fruits like avocados and pears require refrigeration after ripening.

Carbon Dioxide

Recently, greenhouse gardeners and growers have begun to implement additional carbon dioxide into their work, whether that’s raising fruits, vegetables, flowers or cannabis plants. The trick to accelerating plant growth is to circulate more parts per million (ppm) of CO2 into these environments through the ventilation systems. Adding the supplementary CO2 to cannabis grow rooms and greenhouse operations will accelerate yields by 10-25%, resulting in more harvests per year and a greater profit. Leaves can grow 30% larger in size with increased CO2 intake. There are multiple techniques to utilizing CO2 in the cultivation industry, from CO2 bags to dry ice, but two methods continue to be the most common: Compressed Liquid CO2 and Combustion of Propane and Natural Gases.

Rocky Mountain Air serves the varied cultivation needs across our five-state geography by providing the gases needed, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and ethylene. As a leading atmospheric gas distributor in the Rocky Mountain region, we can serve greenhouses and grow rooms across the state to accelerate production.

At RMA we believe in flawless dependability, and our team is here to help you find solutions for your business. We can work with you to evaluate your usage and implement a delivery system that will be the most economical for your business, whether you need high-pressure cylinders for a small grow room, or a liquid CO2 tank for a larger greenhouse application. Contact your local branch today to speak with a representative. We look forward to serving you!

Carbon Dioxide

Nitrogen

Mixed Gases

Other Gases

Specialty Gases

CO2

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a colorless, odorless gas that naturally occurs in the earth’s atmosphere. It is a dense inert gas that, when combined with argon, is used as a shielding gas in the welding process. Uses for carbon dioxide also include controlling pH levels in paper manufacturing and wastewater treatment and increasing yields in cultivation through the acceleration of natural cycles of photosynthesis.

Greenhouse gas emissions are an environmental concern. Carbon removal initiatives, such as direct air capture, extract carbon dioxide from the air and funnel it to be stored or reused by various industries. Green dry cleaning, with carbon dioxide, is environmentally friendly and replaces toxic cleaning solvents and chemicals like perchloroethylene and chlorine-based mixtures.

In its solid form, carbon dioxide is manufactured into small pellets for dry ice blasting, miraculously blowing away soot, smoke, paint, and excess buildup from coffee roasting machines and commercial kitchen appliances. Dry ice is made when cryogenic carbon dioxide is injected into a holding tank where it can be frozen to its desired temperature of -109 degrees Fahrenheit. Cleaning with carbon dioxide gas applications – both liquid and solid – can, realistically, be an environmentally friendly alternative to cleaning applications that use harsh chemicals that contaminate natural bodies of water through wastewater runoff.

Carbon Dioxide plays a significant role in food preservation and transport. Food distributors use dry ice for transportation, as it turns from solid to gas, without liquifying. This sublimination prevents water and residue from accumulating. These blocks are sanitary, food-grade and FDA approved. Beverage companies rely on it to create bubbles, but also to move product between tanks or to kegs and cans. Carbon Dioxide maintains beverage freshness, taste and color and prevents unwanted oxidation and premature fermentation at breweries and wineries.

Carbon dioxide supplies through RMA are offered in a variety of sizes for a variety of systems.

 

Purchase Carbon Dioxide

Gas and liquid Carbon Dioxide for pick up or delivery to you

More About Carbon Dioxide
Nitrogen

Nitrogen (N), a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, is the most common element in our atmosphere at 78%. It’s a component of all living matter, including water, soil, plants, and the human body. It accounts for about 3% of human body weight. Nitrogen has many useful applications in both its gas and liquid forms. One fun fact about nitrogen is that it’s responsible for the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights’ purple color! When solar wind stimulates nitrogen atoms, the result is the purple and blue-colored lights emitted when the atoms decay.

Nitrogen is unique in that it can be used to prevent fires, but is also used to make explosives. In its natural state, Nitrogen is inert. However, if isolated or harnessed (as in the case of making explosives), it can release a large amount of energy. On the other hand, Nitrogen fights potential fire hazards by eliminating one point in the fire triangle. As a purging gas, its inert nature is denser than oxygen. By removing oxygen, with only heat and fuel remaining, nitrogen eliminates fire’s ability to ignite and thrive.

Rocky Mountain Air is a certified distributor of high purity nitrogen. Specialty gas impurities are analyzed with advanced equipment – the most common being gas chromatographs ¬– at our Salt Lake City plant in concordance with our PurityPlus specialty gas partnership. PurityPlus partnerships certify that we are selling the highest-grade product, and that products will be delivered whenever you need them. This partnership aligns directly with Rocky Mountain Air’s promise to deliver flawless dependability to our customers. Contact your local branch to learn more about PurityPlus specialty gases, or to order a certified mixture today.

 

Purchase Nitrogen

Nitrogen available in gas, liquid and bulk form, ready for delivery

More About Nitrogen
Mixed Gases

Mixed gases are a wide and diverse group of products developed for use in specific industries for customized applications. A gas mixture is defined in a molar gas fraction, by percentage, parts per thousand or parts per million. Though gas mixtures are used in many industries, these are common applications in the medical, food and beverage, and welding industries.

 

Purchase Mixed Gases

Gas blends tailored for your needs and industry

More About Mixed Gases
Other Gases

There are many other gases that Rocky Mountain Air manufactures and sells in addition to the elemental, rare, and specialty offerings listed. Butane (C₄H₁₀), Chlorine (Cl), Ethylene (C₂H₄), and Ammonia (NH₃) are just a few of the products that we stock and create for our customers.

Purchase Other Gases

Contact us today to discuss your needs and develop a delivery plan that works for you! We can provide the quantities you need when you need them.

More About Other Gases
Specialty Gases

In addition to elemental gases, Rocky Mountain Air Solutions ® manufactures and delivers PurityPlus™ specialty gases. A specialty gas is a blend of any two or more gases prepared by a lab technician in concordance with a customer’s recommendation. In 2016, Rocky Mountain Air installed a state-of-the-art specialty gas lab in our Salt Lake City production facility. We are a certified PurityPlus™ provider with trained personnel to meet your sophisticated gas requirements. These gas blends require mixing based on specific calibration standards, lab analysis, and certification of the precise composition of contents. Certification includes testing of analysis, compliance, and conformance by a certified lab technician. Specialty gases are manufactured in small quantities for a variety of industries — welding, food packaging, laser applications, university lab testing, and more. Our stringent operational procedures establish the high quality our customers expect, regardless of industry.

Each lab technician must ask questions upon blending and analyzing specialty gas mixtures, such as:

  • What are the blend tolerances?
  • What are the component gases?
  • What is the mixture composition?
  • What is the mixture grade?
  • Which type of cylinder does the specialty gas need to be packaged in?
  • Are there any impurities?
  • Does this cylinder require special certification based on the industry using it?
  • What is the analytical accuracy of the mixture?
  • Are the gases reactive, inert, toxic, oxidizing, flammable, or corrosive?

A few examples of the primary applications we provide specialty gas blending for include:

Medical: We provide the full spectrum of medical gases needed, including therapy gas, diagnostic gas, anesthetics, laser mixes, lung infusion mixes, and breathing air mixes.

Welding and Cutting: We provide all the mixtures needed to ensure the protection of the weld whether it is flux core arc, metal arc, tungsten arc, or plasma arc welding. We also have both oxy-fuel gases and plasma arc gases for your cutting applications.

Food and Beverage Preparation: We provide a complete line of Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP) for the preservation of fresh produce. We can provide the gas needed for sparging and brewing applications as well as for blanketing and purging after packaging for protection against oxidation.

Our partnership with PurityPlus™ certifies that we are selling the highest-grade product, and that these products will be delivered whenever you need them. This partnership aligns directly with RMA’s promise to deliver flawless dependability to each of our customers. Contact your local branch today in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, or Nebraska to discuss your gas uses, or to set up a usage evaluation. We look forward to serving you.

 

View Specialty Gases

Specialty gases available for a variety of industries and uses

More About Specialty Gases

 

“I have had nothing but positive interactions, absolutely! They deliver on time and when needed. I couldn’t ask for a better company to work with.”

Rick M, Colorado Springs Customer