Description
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Neon is a noble gas that is present in only minute quantities on Earth. In its natural state, Neon is a colorless gas with an atomic weight of 20.1797, a melting point of - 415.46 °F, and a boiling point of - 410.94 °F. Neon advertising signs is the main use of neon, other uses include: as a liquid for cryogenic refrigeration, combined with helium for use in gas lasers, and in the use of high-voltage indicators, T.V. tubes, and lightning arrestors.
Isolation
The isolation of neon is only produced on an industrial basis. Neon is available for commercial use and so it is not normally isolated in a laboratory setting.
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As neon is a very rare gaseous element on Earth that is found only in the air, the only process that is used to isolate neon is through fractional distillation of liquefied air. The process of fractional distillation involves using large industrial distillation columns to capture and heat continuous flows of air. As the air is heated, the liquefied gases are separated out from one another by using the different boiling points of the gases. The final steps of neon isolation involve separating helium and nitrogen from the neon; increased pressure and cooling cause the nitrogen to be removed through condensation. Helium and neon are separated by using low temperature selective adsorption through activated charcoal. The amount of liquid air that is needed to produce one pound of neon is 88,000 pounds. While small scale laboratory isolation using fractional distillation of neon is possible, it is inefficient and a lot of energy is needed in order to produce minute quantities of neon.