Advantages of GAS GENERATORS
Benefits of Hydrogen Carrier Gas
The benefits of using hydrogen as a GC carrier gas are proven. Hydrogen is a safe, cost-effective alternative and offers faster analysis, greater resolution and longer column life.
Reducing Costs
helium is becoming increasingly expensive - € 450 per cylinder. Generating your own hydrogen is a more cost-effective alternative, with minimal maintenance and low ongoing costs.
Availability
as supplies diminish, it is becoming increasingly difficult to depend on regular helium deliveries. Ultra-high purity hydrogen can be generated safely onsite with a NTS hydrogen generator.
Safety & Convenience
helium is only available in pressurized cylinders. These have several safety concerns with manual handling and storage. Ultra-high purity hydrogen can be generated safely onsite 24/7.
Chromatographic Run Times
chromatograms from a GC using hydrogen carrier gas can be generated in a much shorter time than those using helium. More analyses can be performed in less time resulting in higher sample throughput.
NTS Hydrogen Generators Provide a Wide Range of Benefits
To Your Lab.
Cascading
The ability to “cascade”, or install several hydrogen generators in parallel, provides:
- Higher flow rates - up to 10 l/min
- Automatic flow compensation in the event of unplanned downtime
- Continuous operation for critical applications.
Savings
Hydrogen gas generators avoid the need for expensive installation of gas pipelines from the cylinder storerooms to the labs, as well as the need to repeatedly change the bottles. The dual configuration H2 or H2 + Air, available in a single instrument, saves space and money.
Improved Chromatography Results
Hydrogen as a carrier gas is faster and more sensitive than the more expensive helium, providing run time savings of 25% to 35% without a decline in resolution.
Easy to Use and Maintain
The unit features remote software control via RS232, USB, or intranet. With automatic cold dryer regeneration, there are no caustic solutions used. Maintenance is simplified by our deionizer bag access system, which allows changing out the deionizer bag without tools, without even turning off the instrument.
Safety
The very small internal volume (less than 50 ml) allows safe use of gas generators where the use of cylinders is risky or prohibited. The application of tested safety technologies stops the unit in the event of leaks or malfunction. An optional hydrogen sensor is available for monitoring the oven-LEL of the GC. Our generators may also includes additional security features such as shock sensors to promptly shutdown in the event of an earthquake.
Lab Productivity
Round the clock continuous operation maximizes lab productivity, eliminating dead time for gas bottle changeover and maintenance of the drying system.
Reasons to Cascade Laboratory Gas Generators
What is Cascading?
Cascading gas generators means connecting multiple gas generators together.
Why would you want to cascade?
When you connect multiple gas generators together, even if one generator goes down, the remaining generators continue to produce hydrogen.
This prevents down time in your lab.
Increase flow rate output up to 10 l/min. If you have greater needs for your application, the output can be increased significantly, permitting you to accomplish analyses that couldn’t be accomplished with a lower flow rate.
How cascading works
The communication of the generators is done via an interface. Each generator needs to be assigned a unique ID number. Each generator must know how many generators are connected in the cascading group. As soon as the generators are powered up, one generator becomes the primary, and controls the others (secondary). If there is a problem with the primary generator, one of the secondary generators will become the primary.
Using Hydrogen Does Not Compromise Safety
The common concern about using hydrogen is the perceived danger. At 4%-75% volume in air, hydrogen will burn and there is a potential risk explosion.
However, being less viscous than helium, it more readily escapes, therefore unless a large quantity is suddenly released into the environment, the danger of reaching the LEL (lower explosive limit) is very low. Hydrogen rises two times faster than helium at a speed of 20 m/s (45 mph). In a laboratory with regular air turnover it would be very difficult to achieve the explosive limits.
Are GC and GC/MS systems safe to use with hydrogen carrier gas? The most common concern when considering using hydrogen as a carrier gas, is a leak inside the GC oven either from a broken column or at the fitting. GC’s are designed using EPC (Electronic Pressure Control) to control all gas supplies. This limits the total flow of gas into the GC oven and if low pressure is detected, the sign of a leak, the gas flow is turned off and all heated zones cooled.
Other mitigating measures include inserting a snubber or flow limiting frit or better still a flow controller, into the carrier gas supply line. If a leak occurs inside the oven the flow rate will be limited to that needed for the chromatography.
