Membrane technology.
State-of-the-Art and State-of-the-Budget
A nitrogen membrane provides a low-cost, highly efficient means of separating air into its component gases. Because this technology requires no moving parts and consumes relatively little energy, it is surprisingly economical to operate and maintain—the main expense is the energy required to provide a stream of compressed feed air. Each system contains gas pressure control valves and instruments, a coalescing filter and carbon filter (which removes particles and liquid vapors from the feed line), and the nitrogen membrane module.
The membrane module consists of bundles of hollow fiber, semipermeable membranes. Each fiber has a perfectly circular cross-section and a uniform core through its center. The wall thickness of each fiber is thus consistent, which contributes to the physical strength of each membrane. Because the fibers are so small (about the diameter of a human hair), a great many can be packed into a limited space, providing an extremely large membrane surface area that can produce a relatively high volume product stream.
The hollow fibers are assembled parallel to a central core tube, and the bundle is inserted into an outer case to form the air separation module. Compressed air is introduced into the center of the fibers at one end of the module and contacts the membrane as it flows down to fiber bores. Oxygen, water vapor and other "fast gases" pass through the outside of the fibers. The oxygen-rich gas stream then flows through the fiber bundle to the periphery of the case, where it is discharged as a by-product.
While all but a small fraction of the oxygen passes through the membrane material to the exterior of the hollow fibers, most of the nitrogen present in the feed air is contained within the hollow fiber membrane. Since water vapor passes through the membrane along with the oxygen, this nitrogen product is essentially moisture-free. The nitrogen stream emerges at a pressure slightly below that of the feed air pressure.
Design Simplicity Means Easy, Reliable Operation
Because the heart of the system, the membrane module, contains no moving parts, it requires no maintenance. The only attention a system typically needs is an occasional recalibration of the oxygen analyzer and filter change. Even if one module's performance should drop below purity specifications, it can simply be valved off until it can be repaired or replaced
Once the system is set up, you simply switch to START and push the RESET button to open the feed valve. After about three minutes, when gas purity levels are met, a product valve opens to deliver the nitrogen gas to your process line.
Each Nitrogen Generator consists of a membrane module, controls and instrumentation, and coalescing filters and traps to remove oil and liquids, organic contaminants, and other particulates from the feed air. Installation merely requires piping compressed air to the system, piping the nitrogen and oxygen-rich streams to their destinations, and calibrating the system's oxygen analyzer from time to time.
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Nitrogen generators.
- State-of-the-art membrane separation technology produces dry nitrogen up to 99.9% pure
- Eliminates drawbacks of conventional nitrogen sources—gives you control of rate and purity of nitrogen production
- Delivers gas flows up to 600 SCFH or more depending on nitrogen purity requirements (even higher flows possible if only dryness is desired)
- Compact, lightweight design allows set-up wherever there's a compressed air supply
- Ideal for the complete range of cleanroom applications—from glove boxes to automatic storage systems
- Simplicity of field-proven design ensures completely reliable, economical operation, virtually eliminates maintenance
- Three models available with three flow ranges.
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Nitrogen Generators Purity vs. Flow Rates (@100 PSI Inlet feed, 72°F*) |
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| Model | Purity | ||
| 99% | 98% | 97% | |
| No. 2700-12A | 7.4CFH | 10.2CFH | 12.5CFH |
| No. 2700-11A | 49.0CFH | 65.0CFH | 75.0CFH |
| No. 2700-09A | 126.0CFH | 180.0CFH | 223.0CFH |
| *Higher flow rates for a given purity can be achieved with high feed pressure and temperature. | |||
