What Is The Purpose Of Nitrogen Generators?
Nitrogen generators use regular compressed air to produce high-purity nitrogen on-demand. This eliminates the need to buy liquid nitrogen from a third-party supplier which comes with rental and delivery costs, Hazmat fees, and wasted cylinders that never get completely filled.
Generating nitrogen onsite also reduces the risk of employee safety issues associated with handling heavy, high-pressure cylinders.
Purification
PSA
nitrogen generators use a multistage compressed air pre-filtration process that removes dust particles and moisture to protect the CMS carbon molecular sieves from contaminating the gas stream. This reduces the need for switching valve maintenance that occurs at extended intervals of up to 8000 operating hours, resulting in more reliable and consistent operation. Having your own onsite nitrogen generation also eliminates price fluctuations and the cost of handling, tracking and transporting high-pressure cylinder deliveries.
Separation
Nitrogen generators use membrane separation technology to separate oxygen and other molecules from compressed air. They also remove contaminates such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, resulting in pure nitrogen gas.
Membrane separators have thousands of hollow fibres that compressed air passes through. The walls of these fibres are permeable to gas molecules, but some gases pass through more quickly than others. Oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor pass through the membrane walls more rapidly than nitrogen and are exhausted to atmosphere. The CMS material is then regenerated, releasing the adsorbed gases and allowing it to start producing more nitrogen.
Storage
Nitrogen generators offer a continuous supply of nitrogen at a much lower cost than cylinders and require less space to store, unlike the many cylinders that fill up warehouse floors. They are also easy to install and simple for employees to use.
Food companies use pure nitrogen gas to preserve and extend the shelf life of produce. By flushing storage rooms with the gas, the ripening process is slowed down and product freshness is maintained.
Nitrogen generator systems use carbon molecular sieve material packed into dual pressure vessels and undergo a cycle of compression and decompression to separate oxygen molecules from the nitrogen that passes through. This is known as pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology.
Distribution
Nitrogen generators offer several advantages to businesses formerly using bottled nitrogen. They eliminate repeating costs associated with tank rental and delivery, reduce supply issues (such as running out), and take up less floor space than nitrogen cylinders.
In nitrogen generators using membrane separation technology, compressed air is passed through a membrane. This membrane has permeable walls that allow some gas molecules to pass through more easily than others, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor. These ‘faster’ gases are then exhausted to atmosphere, leaving pure nitrogen to flow through.
