Author Topic: Nitrogen. A question for chemists (Read 1499 times)

tpl · « **on:** October 30, 2012, 02:23:04 pm »

I was in our local tire place today and up on the wall was a big green cylinder marked Nitrogen with a pipe coming from it that went to a 1' by 2' box containing 3 filters, they looked like the sort of filters you'd have on an undersink water filter, and then down to a regular air hose fitting.

So I asked how often the tanker came to fill the cylinder as it only looked big enough for a days use. The answer was that they fill it from their own air compressor and the filters remove the oxygen ( and presumably anything else).

So can you just put air through filters and remove oxygen from it, at room temperature and a pressure that I'd guess would be maybe 200 psi. Seems dubious to me but then I last did chemistry 50 years ago.

Sir Osis of Liver · « **Reply #1 on:** October 30, 2012, 02:29:49 pm »

We used to use O2 generators at the hatchery. They had different catalysts to strip out N2 and CO2 leaving relatively pure O2. The nitrogen generators likely function the same.

http://www.fishfarmsupply.ca/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=FFS&Product_Code=OG12&Category_Code=flowOxygen

Railton · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2012, 02:59:40 pm »

Back in the day (~1984), I was part of a design team to create a system to reclaim and purify HeNe gas which was used within Ring Laser Gyros mechanisms to produce a light beam. The system incorporated various ovens and filters as well so, yeah, seems plausible.
Railton

Sir Osis of Liver · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2012, 03:12:42 pm »

Quote from: Railton on October 30, 2012, 02:59:40 pm

Back in the day (~1984), I was part of a design team to create a system to reclaim and purify HeNe gas which was used within Ring Laser Gyros mechanisms to produce a light beam. The system incorporated various ovens and filters as well so, yeah, seems plausible.
Railton

Ring Laser Gyro. I don't know what that is, but it sounds awesome!

Railton · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:07:53 pm »

Quote from: Sir Osis of Liver on October 30, 2012, 03:12:42 pm

Quote from: Railton on October 30, 2012, 02:59:40 pm
Back in the day (~1984), I was part of a design team to create a system to reclaim and purify HeNe gas which was used within Ring Laser Gyros mechanisms to produce a light beam. The system incorporated various ovens and filters as well so, yeah, seems plausible.
Railton

Ring Laser Gyro. I don't know what that is, but it sounds awesome!

Yeah, it was pretty cool in its time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_construction
I remember one day we were testing the purification system and someone forgot to clamp the hoses in.

Everyone ran for cover trying not to get hit when the hoses blew off with this thing flailing hoses left, right and center everywhere. One guy made it over to the electrical power panel and pulled the switch. It was a monster.

Railton

rrocket · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:28:31 pm »

Looks like Membrane technology is the process they use to do it : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_generator

tpl · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2012, 06:11:12 pm »

Thank you RR That pic is similar to the device they have so that must be it. Much easier than a tanker of liquid N.