Want to know the method of inert gas purging and what all accessories you will require? This article will be your savior if you wish to address these questions.
So let us first know the fundamentals of inert gas purging. If you are associated with laboratories, you might be understanding the necessity of using enclosures or chambers for performing several experiments. These are run in a complete aseptic and enclosed environment, which can be assured by such chambers. Now the basis of using these chambers is they maintain a strict moisture-free ambiance, which in turn is accomplished by inert gas purging.
Inert gas purging, as the name suggests, is the mechanism of infusing the interior of enclosed chambers with inert gases such as the commonly used nitrogen or argon. These gases make sure that the interior remains ‘inert’ and does not react with the components under study. To achieve this goal, there are many inert gas purging accessories available in the market. Each of them has a definite role to play for maintaining the inertness.
While learning about the accessories and different detailed aspects of inert gas purging, you should also learn another essential reason behind its usage. The prime fear when handling highly reactive substances is their uncertain or unpredictable explosions. Many of the times, the oxygen concentration inside the chambers remains high, and this can alter the property of inflammability, leading to dangerous outcomes.
In this article, let us know the principal accessories that you can get for your desiccator, glove box or any other enclosed chamber.
- Oxygen Level Analyzer:
An Oxygen level analyzer acts as a unit to modulate the level of oxygen concentration inside the chamber or enclosure. It can vary between the two extremes of 0 and 100%. You can alter or manipulate the setpoint depending on the requirements of the conditions for a definite experiment. This is achieved through the usage of the inert gases, such as nitrogen and argon. It is available in two purge forms.
When you have set the desired level of oxygen concentration for the enclosure and the concentration after timepoint t is below the setpoint, then it will switch on the low-purge system. Whereas when the oxygen concentration is above the setpoint, then high purge system will be activated to remove the excess of oxygen and moisture from the interior.
- Purge Control Unit With RH Sensor:
It acts as a dehumidification unit. Sometimes systems working as humidification units are also available. Such kinds are used not only to dehumidify the interior but also to maintain minimal humidity inside. It is constructed in a way so that you can modulate the relative humidity or RH of the interior steadily. The optimum RH required in laboratory conditions is around 3-5%, which you can easily maintain using this control unit.
It has a brilliant working mechanism to modulate the relative humidity. When a desired level of RH is maintained inside the chamber, the flow of nitrogen or inert gas is stopped by a solenoid valve. This makes sure the unwanted wastage of the inert gases, and hence you should not worry about its over consumption. However, certain other models offer an alternative way. Instead of complete blockage of the inert gases, these systems maintain a low-purge facility (when the RH level is optimum) by which an invariant flow of gases circulates inside the chamber. On increasing the moisture level, a high purge facility is activated.
- Nitrogen Generator:
You can alternatively use a nitrogen generator if you want to cut down on your expenses of using conventional nitrogen cylinders. As a perfect replacement for the traditional cylinders, nitrogen generators can be vital in laboratories. They can produce upto 99.5% pure and sterile nitrogen gas, and the interesting part is that there is no need for electricity in order to run the generator.
They are used to serve the same purpose as other accessories but have a different approach. Nitrogen generators need a supply of dry compressed air to work. These have several filtration membranes that can filtrate out oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and other gases and particles, leaving a clean nitrogenous air. After passing through these filters, the gas passes through the final set of membranes. It makes sure the air is only rich in nitrogen and nothing else.
Get any of these Inert Gas Purging Accessories to Stay Safe:
After going through the article, you should have an accurate understanding of the variants of accessories available and the importance of each of them. It is not always about the features linked with the machines but the necessity of having various purging accessories to have a well-functioning laboratory unit. Only with the combined action of these two, can you have a safe and active workspace. So hurry up and make your purchase now!