Atlas Copco introduced three ranges of nitrogen and oxygen generators for on-site gas generation. With these gas generators, companies can expand their existing compressed air installation to generate their own nitrogen and oxygen. Atlas Copco’s new range of on-site gas generators were designed to meet the highest purity standards and run economically for both large and small applications.
On-site gas generation is more sustainable and cost-efficient than gas delivered in cylinders or bulk liquid supply, as it eliminates the operational and administrative costs of ordering, transporting, storing and delivering the bottles or bulk liquid into cryogenic tanks, according to Atlas Copco.
Atlas Copco’s membrane nitrogen generator (NGM) is suitable for applications such as fire prevention, tire inflation, tank and pipeline cleaning and many other oil and gas, mining and marine applications. The NGM uses membrane air separation to produce nitrogen. A bundle of polymer fiber acts as a membrane that allows nitrogen to pass and other gases to permeate. Compressed air goes in at the inlet and enriched nitrogen comes out at the other end of the nitrogen generator. Membrane technology generates nitrogen with an adjustable purity and flows up to 500 m³/h.
For those applications that demand high purities of nitrogen (up to 99,999 percent), Atlas Copco recommends the nitrogen generator (NGP) with PSA technology. Based on the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology, carbon molecular sieves adsorb oxygen molecules from compressed air. The nitrogen generator has two connected towers that work together to produce an almost continuous flow of nitrogen gas. The result: nitrogen purity levels up to 99,999 percent for flows up to 1100 Nm³/h. Typical applications of the NGP are packaging, plastic molding, metallurgy, purging analyzers, electronics, fruit storage and food and beverage.