LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.,
Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Air
Products (NYSE:APD) will participate in this year's virtual
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit on Dec. 8
and 9.
Michael Himes, of Air Products'
Merchant Research and Development team, and Timothy Lebrecht, Air Products' Industry Manager
- Chemical Process Industries and Cryogenics, will take part in a
panel discussion on "Exploring Emerging Technologies, Research and
Product Development Opportunities." They will be joined on the
panel by Sairam Rudrabhatla,
Ph.D., of Penn State Harrisburg, and Dozie Mbonu of Jarette's Eco-Friendly Fungi.
Mark Gignac, of the Institute of
Advanced Learning and Research, will serve as moderator.
The panel discussion will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Dec.
8. To register for the summit and watch the panel, visit:
https://teampa.com/pahempsummit/hemp-summit-registration/.
"Our experience and advanced cryogenic technology have provided
game-changing solutions for those in the biotech and food
industries, and we look forward to collaborating with those in the
industrial hemp* industry to improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of their processes," said Lebrecht.
Air Products is collaborating with a professor at the
University of Virginia on research
studying the benefits of cryogenic freezing on cannabinoids found
in industrial hemp, from the time of harvest through extraction and
final processing.
In the fast-growing industrial hemp market, industrial gases can
play an important role in growing, harvesting, processing,
extraction and packaging. There are several ways industrial gases
and freezing can help, including:
- Harvesting – Flash freezing freshly-harvested industrial hemp
with liquid nitrogen prior to storage in an Air Products
Freshline® IQ Freezer can help prevent
biomass degradation or mold while locking in the chemical
content.
- Processing – During the biomass material preparation process,
adding liquid nitrogen to the mill when grinding can eliminate heat
and subsequent oil stickiness that causes machine clogging and
downtime. Pre-cooling biomass prior to entering extraction using a
PolarFit® Cryogenic Cooling Conveyor provides an
ideal means of temperature control.
- Extraction – For ethanol extraction, the ultracold properties
of liquid nitrogen can be used to achieve and maintain temperatures
in the less than -80⁰C range as a cost effective and efficient
means of precise extraction.
- Packaging – Dosing the final product with a small amount of
liquid nitrogen can serve as a protective layer from oxidation or
moisture, effectively blanketing the oils and enhancing quality and
shelf-life.
- Inerting/Blanketing – When working with flammable materials or
to keep cannabidiol (CBD) product fresh, using a nitrogen
blanketing system is a best practice for safety and quality.
Keeping oils free from moisture and oxygen via nitrogen blanketing
can also extend shelf-life.
As a global leader in industrial gases and cryogenic technology
applications, Air Products has the experience and technical
know-how to help biotech, food, and chemical processors address
some of their toughest challenges through low temperature,
fast-freezing. With cryogenics laboratories located in the U.S.,
Europe, and Asia, Air Products can test a customer's
product on commercial-scale equipment to determine the feasibility
of using cryogenic freezing or chilling for their specific
process.
The Pennsylvania Hemp Summit was organized by the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture and Team Pennsylvania to increase the
commonwealth's shared knowledge and resources in order to inspire
innovative investments and to form transformative partnerships in
the industry.
*Air Products will only sell to customers in the industrial
hemp market who can show compliance with applicable state and
federal laws and regulations.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a
world-leading industrial gases company in operation for 80 years.
Focused on serving energy, environment and emerging markets, the
Company provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and
applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries,
including refining, chemical, metals, electronics, manufacturing,
and food and beverage. Air Products is also the global leader in
the supply of liquefied natural gas process technology and
equipment. The Company develops, engineers, builds, owns and
operates some of the world's largest industrial gas projects,
including: gasification projects that sustainably convert abundant
natural resources into syngas for the production of high-value
power, fuels and chemicals; carbon capture projects; and
world-scale carbon-free hydrogen projects supporting global
transportation and the energy transition.
The Company had fiscal 2020 sales of $8.9
billion from operations in 50 countries and has a current
market capitalization of about $60
billion. More than 19,000 passionate, talented and committed
employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products'
higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the
environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges
facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information,
visit www.airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter,
Facebook or Instagram.
NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements
within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of
the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual
performance and financial results may differ materially from
projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking
statements because of many factors not anticipated by management,
including risk factors described in the company's Form 10K for its
fiscal year ended September 30,
2020.
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SOURCE Air Products