The most reliable N2 Generators in North America

The pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process has become a widely used unit operation for gas separation or purification. PSA is attractive, because it requires no separate desorption steps that need heat input, and because it runs continuously with automatic regeneration of the adsorbent. It is capable of producing a very pure product, up to 99.999%.

One of the uses for PSA process is nitrogen production from air. The process for nitrogen production uses carbon molecular sieve (CMS) as an adsorbent, which is kinetically selective for oxygen. In this material, oxygen is the faster diffusing species and is preferentially adsorbed, although at equilibrium, the affinities for oxygen and nitrogen are almost the same.

PSA systems generally have a higher price point, larger footprint and require more preventative maintenance.

Air separation membrane technology allows air to pass or permeate through the wall of hollow fibers into the shell of the hollow-fiber module, which is maintained at essentially atmospheric pressure. Oxygen, water, and carbon dioxide are more easily passed through the walls of the hollow fibers than nitrogen and argon, and they leave the module as permeate or the waste stream. The gas remaining in the fiber bore is enriched in nitrogen and argon as it moves through the fiber from the feed end to the product end of the module.

This process can produce up to 99.95+% N2 in the product stream. Such purified nitrogen is widely used for blanketing or inerting applications in, for example, fuel tank blanketing, food container/packaging blanketing, modified atmosphere packaging, chemical industries, storage tank blanketing or purging and 3D printing

Membrane systems generally have a lower price point, smaller footprint and require less preventative maintenance.