Difference Between Dry Ice and Liquid Nitrogen

The key difference between dry ice and liquid nitrogen is that the dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide whereas the liquid nitrogen is elemental nitrogen in liquid state.

We call dry ice as “cardice”. The primary application of this compound is as a cooling agent. It undergoes sublimation instead of liquefying. Liquid nitrogen, on the other hand, is in liquid state. This occurs in this state at extremely low temperatures. It can undergo vaporization upon boiling.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Dry Ice
3. What is Liquid Nitrogen
4. Side by Side Comparison – Dry Ice vs Liquid Nitrogen in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Dry Ice?

Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. We call it “cardice”. This form of ice is advantageous than the ice forms from water because this dry ice occurs at very low temperatures and does not leave any residue. Therefore, people use this form of ice for the preservation of food when we cannot get mechanical cooling. Thus, this compound is important as a cooling agent.

This compound undergoes sublimation at −78.5 °C, and hence, it does not go through a liquid state. This makes dry ice very dangerous because handling this compound may cause burns due to freezing. This compound is colorless and non-flammable. Moreover, it has a sour zesty odor. When dissolved in water, it can lower the pH of a solution by forming carbonic acid.

What is Liquid Nitrogen?

Liquid nitrogen is the elemental nitrogen in liquid form. It occurs at very low temperatures. The boiling point of this compound is −195.79 °C. This liquid form has many applications in cooling and cryogenic uses. We can produce this material via fractional distillation of liquefied air.

There are nitrogen molecules consisting of two nitrogen atoms bound to each other via covalent chemical bonds. We have to store this liquid in special containers that are aware of the pressure build-ups inside the container.

What is the Difference Between Dry Ice and Liquid Nitrogen?

Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. This material has carbon dioxide molecules that consist of a carbon atom bonded to two oxygen atoms via covalent bonds. Moreover, it undergoes sublimation at−78.5 °C and converts into the gas state.

 Liquid nitrogen is elemental nitrogen in liquid state. It consists of nitrogen molecules that has two nitrogen atoms bonded to each other via covalent bonds. In addition, it undergoes vaporization at −195.79 °C and converts into a gas state.

Summary – Dry Ice vs Liquid Nitrogen

Dry ice and liquid nitrogen are very important as cooling agents. The difference between dry ice and liquid nitrogen is that the dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide whereas the liquid nitrogen is elemental nitrogen in a liquid state.

Reference:

1. “Dry Ice.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 July 2018. Available here 
2. Helmenstine, Anne Marie. “Everything You Need to Know About Liquid Nitrogen.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.’Dry Ice 3’By ProjectManhattan; cropped by Michał Sobkowski – cropped from File:Dry Ice 2.jpg, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia  
2.’Making Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream – Sentosa, Singapore – 16 Oct. 2013’By Sarah_Ackerman from New York, USA – Making the Ice Cream, (CC BY 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia