Proposal for the Use of Liquid Nitrogen in Random Hall's Liquid

Nitrogen Ice Cream Events

Yongquan Lu (yqlu@mit.edu)
Feb 25,2013

1) Scale of Events

Over the course of CPW (April 11th - 14th, 2013), Random Hall plans to prepare
approximately 300 servings of liquid nitrogen ice cream. The preparation and distribution of the
ice cream will take place in Random Hall's main lounge and will be structured in a manner
similar to the liquid nitrogen ice cream events of previous years. There will be at most 2 flavors
of ice cream made at a time (about a gallon each) during an event, and each flavor will be made
by at least 2 people trained to handle liquid nitrogen.

2) Setup

The unfrozen ice cream will be prepared and stored in our basement refrigerators prior to the
event and will be brought into the main lounge as the event starts to be mixed with liquid
nitrogen. Several two-person teams will prepare these ingredients, handle and mix liquid
nitrogen with the ice cream mixture, and serve the frozen ice cream. The scale of this event is
such that a large group is unnecessary. Syrups will also be frozen by two-person teams in bowls
of liquid nitrogen.

3) Handling and Safety of Liquid Nitrogen

Prior to the beginning of CPW, the Dewars of liquid nitrogen will be delivered to the back
entrance of Random Hall. The Dewars will be rolled down a pre-existing wooden ramp into the
Random Hall basement and from there into the 290-side (north side) air shaft. The doors to the
shaft are alarmed and monitored during daylight hours by desk staff and during night hours by
the campus police, allowing safe and secure storage of the Dewars and limiting access to
authorized students. The Dewars in the shaft will be placed in such a way as to avoid the
obstruction of the emergency exit.

Dispensing of liquid nitrogen will take place in the shaft with a pre-inspected cryogenic
corrugated hose. The liquid nitrogen will be dispensed into a 50 liter narrow-necked Dewar. This
50 liter Dewar will be used to transport the liquid nitrogen from the large Dewar to the Random
Hall main lounge, carried up the front stairs, which are straight, rather than up the twisting back
stairs to avoid splashing. As it is heavy when filled, it will be carried by two people with a third
clearing the way for the Dewar. To further avoid splashing, the Dewar will be kept at most
three-fourths full. The 50 liter Dewar will be used to dispense liquid nitrogen into two 1 gallon
Dewars, which can easily be handled by a single person. These smaller Dewars will be used to
pour the liquid nitrogen into the bowls for mixing liquid nitrogen ice cream.

Any person who volunteers to deal with liquid nitrogen before the event will be given a
lecture and demonstration on the safe handling of liquid nitrogen by a person who has had one or
more years of experience. During the dispensing of liquid nitrogen and during ice cream making
events, the volunteers will wear cryogenic gloves which have been inspected beforehand for
signs of damage, long sleeved shirts, long pants, close-toed shoes, and safety goggles. All
preparation of ice cream will be done on tables which have been inspected beforehand for
stability in Random Hall's main lounge. The main lounge is large and well-ventilated, with direct
window access to the shaft. During mixing, workers will be properly spaced to avoid
accidentally jostling those handling liquid nitrogen. While one member of each team is handling
the liquid nitrogen, the other will be on hand during mixing to quickly clean any spills. Any
onlookers will be kept at least 3 feet away from the mixing tables.

After the last liquid nitrogen ice cream event is completed, all dispensing equipment will be
removed and any remaining liquid nitrogen in the Dewar will be used for demonstrations and
training next year's staff. Excess LN2 will not be discharged. The large Dewar will then be
moved to the pickup location as specified by Airgas.

4) Food Safety

All members of teams will work according to food safety guidelines, handling the ice cream
ingredients only after properly sterilizing their hands and tying any long hair back. Those serving
the ice cream after it has been prepared will use latex gloves. As perishable heavy cream will be
used in the preparation of the ice cream, we will insure that it is kept refrigerated so as to remain
safe for consumption. No eggs, raw or otherwise will be used in the preparation of this ice cream.
A complete list of all ingredients in the ice cream will be posted at all locations where it is served.