Since nitrogen accounts for 78% of the environment (the air we breathe) and is freely available, more and more manufacturers are investing in innovative systems so that they can produce their own nitrogen on-site according to demand, purity and quality. Surprised to ask.

Manufacturers involved in laser cutting, injection molding and heat treatment, and several other manufacturing applications are benefiting from a continuous supply of dry nitrogen, which is mainly used to replace oxygen that causes oxidation. 

Manufacturers no longer rely on the expensive and timely process of using nitrogen bottled gas supply (bottle storage) or supply in gas or liquid form and stored on-site in large tanks, but switch to more reliable and environmentally friendly systems, and in this In the process, their production costs were greatly reduced.

Sonik Barot, Atlas Copco's Australia CNG and Industrial Gas Project Product Manager, said that as manufacturers find new ways to increase production efficiency while reducing operating costs, the company's energy-saving on-site nitrogen generation system has attracted great interest.

“It’s no surprise that manufacturers noticed our integrated nitrogen skids, because they can save 40% to 80% compared to the cost of nitrogen supply from existing bottled or bulk gas supplies,” he said.

Barot emphasized the fact that, based on purity and negotiated supply terms, the supply price of bottled and bulk nitrogen is usually between 5 and 17 US dollars per cubic meter.

"However, with our on-site nitrogen skid-mounted system, in most cases, the cost of generating electricity is less than US$3 per cubic meter, and the investment can usually be recovered within 18 to 24 months."

He pointed out that once paid, electricity and maintenance costs are the only operating expenses; compared with the traditional bottled or bulk gas supply of nitrogen supply, it can save more than 80% of the cost.

 "Once the company looks at the data, it is an easy decision for them from a financial and reliability perspective. In addition, they are of course also reducing their environmental impact. A win-win situation," he said.

Barot explained that Atlas Copco’s nitrogen skid is equipped with the company’s high-efficiency GA VSD+ compressor, NGP+ nitrogen generator using the latest generation of PSA (pressure swing adsorption) technology, air and nitrogen receivers, superchargers, Dryer and filter, all of which are integrated into a compact pre-commissioning skid.

"This is a true plug-and-play solution, which greatly reduces installation time and cost, and saves cost and nitrogen supply independence, giving you complete peace of mind," he said.

"We are the only company that can provide a complete package installed on a skid with a small footprint; saving valuable floor space on the customer's site."

He said that all components are manufactured in accordance with Atlas Copco's quality and energy efficiency standards and have been tested to work together to achieve optimal performance and reliability.

Barot explained that the PSA nitrogen generator is used to separate nitrogen molecules from other molecules in the compressed air, where oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor and other gases are adsorbed and released back to the atmosphere.  

"The result is that the nitrogen at the outlet of the generator is almost pure nitrogen," he said.

Mr. Barot said that with an air coefficient of 1.8 (95% purity) to 5.5 (99.999% purity) and a special cycle time modulation algorithm, compared with other nitrogen generators, the operating cost of the new NGP+ can be reduced by 50%.

There are eight models to choose from; four direct-use 40 bar versions and four 300 bar versions also allow users to fill skid-mounted storage tanks or cylinders to create their own nitrogen process gas network supply.

"They can be used as a backup supply of nitrogen for users, but they also allow users to reduce the size of the system in the event of fluctuating demand," Barot said.

Barot said that by using the user's own pre-filled bottles to meet peak demand, instead of using higher capacity power generation systems, it provides significant savings.

He said that the nitrogen skid has various capacity models, providing 6 to 60 Nm3/hour with a purity of 99.9% and 4 to 38 Nm3/hour with a purity of 99.999%.

"For large companies with higher capacity requirements, Atlas Copco can custom design and build customized nitrogen generation systems according to their needs and requirements," he said.

Barot recognizes that the required nitrogen purity varies by application, so it can easily adjust the nitrogen purity generated by the system to meet the company's needs, from 95% to 99.999% or 5000ppm to 10ppm

"For example, in laser cutting, the higher the purity, the cleaner the cut, without burrs and oxidation," he said.

He said there are similar stories in the plastics industry.

“Operating the injection molding machine under high-purity and high-pressure nitrogen can provide a better finish, very clean and free of burrs. Just like laser cutting, high-purity nitrogen will not oxidize,” he said.

He explained that the nitrogen skid kit is equipped with an oxygen analyzer as standard to measure oxygen molecules and confirm the purity level.

"If there is a problem with nitrogen purity, all the produced gas will be directly released into the atmosphere," Barrott said.

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