John Bouchard & Sons Co.

Nitrogen Generators

Q: Benefits of Nitrogen Generator Systems Over Alternatives

Better Control: Operators can select the rate of gas flow and its purity, from 95% purity for general uses to 99.999% purity for more sensitive applications.

Nitrogen generators are a safe, reliable, and cost-effective way for businesses to produce pure nitrogen on-site for various critical processes. Nitrogen generator systems take in compressed air and separate nitrogen molecules from oxygen, creating a pure, concentrated nitrogen stream. Most nitrogen generators take the form of a membrane-based system or a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) attachment on an air compressor.

Learn more about the benefits of on-site nitrogen generators and their typical applications.

Benefits of Nitrogen Generator Systems Over Alternatives

Nitrogen generators are a superior alternative to purchasing bulk nitrogen or cylinders, for the following common reasons:

Better Control: Operators can select the rate of gas flow and its purity, from 95% purity for general uses to 99.999% purity for more sensitive applications.
Enhanced Flexibility: With nitrogen generators, facilities can pump continuous streams of pure nitrogen gas to different equipment based on their operational needs. For example, they can supply nitrogen for food packaging, laser cutting or electronics fabrication as needed.
More Cost-Effective and Energy-Efficient: Nitrogen generators that use membrane technology are extremely efficient. They can separate nitrogen from oxygen without moving parts, which reduces the total amount of energy needed to operate them and decreases spending on maintenance. Organizations also save on the money they otherwise would have spent transporting pure nitrogen to their site from a third party.
Safer Operations: Cylinders containing pure nitrogen require special storage protocols because of the potential dangers they represent. However, nitrogen generators generate pure nitrogen based on demand, so there are no storage requirements. This mitigates any potential risk of improperly managed nitrogen cylinders.

Typical Nitrogen Generator Applications

One of the key benefits of an on-site nitrogen generator is that it enables many different industrial processes, giving companies more control over their production, expenses, and timelines. Some of the most popular applications for nitrogen generators include the following.

Chemical Processing

Chemical facilities often use nitrogen generators for chemical blanketing, also called tank padding. This process involves adding pure nitrogen to the empty vapor space within a container, effectively controlling the composition of the chemical inside. Because nitrogen is nonreactive, tank padding prevents accidental reactions with oxygen molecules.

Food Packaging

Food packaging facilities commonly flush bags containing food products from produce to non-perishables with pure nitrogen. This displaces the oxygen around the product, mitigating oxidation during storage and transport. Nitrogen flushing can also remove moisture.

Laser Cutting

Laser cutting uses an assist gas, and nitrogen is one of the most common types. Pure nitrogen is directed against a fresh laser cut to remove vaporized metal and prevent it from cooling and resolidifying over the substrate.

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceutical manufacturers also use nitrogen to pad tanks or chemically blanket containers so they can precisely control the composition of products. They can also flush filled containers with nitrogen to remove oxygen and moisture. For these and other applications, pharmaceutical companies particularly benefit from having their own on-site source of high-purity nitrogen, as it helps them tightly control quality and improve operational efficiency.