This presentation focus on on-site Gas Generation for the laboratory space supplying a range of analytical and specialty applications within the lab environment. I will focus on keeping green by preventing weekly cylinder and bulk supply deliveries, that waste energy offsite to generate the gas and petrol to delivery to the laboratory. The overall cost savings vs other methods (ROI < 1.5 years including service) and of course how Laboratory managers can significantly reduce their OHS/E risk with onsite Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Zero Air gas generators.

1. REV03 10/11/2019 RSID 2998Confidential, unpublished property of Peak Scientific Instruments Ltd. Do not duplicate or distribute. Use and distribution limited solely to authorized personnel. © 2019 Peak Scientific Instruments Ltd.
Reliable on-site gas generation
Keeping green, increasing ROI, decreasing OHS concerns
Dr Nicole Renee Pendini

2. Agenda
Keep Green: Environmental savings
Commercial gas generation
ROI: Cost savings
Safety: OHS advantages

3. Why Should you care about gas ?
You want to maxamise the capabilities of your analytical equipment, achieving the best data possible.
This starts with the quantity and quality of your gas supply.
You can’t operate without it!!!

4. Nitrogen gas generation

5. Off-site: N2 gas generation - cylinders

6. Off site - Liquid N2
Liquid Nitrogen, Cryogenic separation
Air is cooled to – 200 o C where air gases are separated in the liquid form.

7. Onsite- Peak gas generation
Onsite alternative to cylinders or bulk liquid storage.
Capable of producing gases such as nitrogen, purified/ dry air & hydrogen onsite and on
demand.
Produced at regulated volume and pressure.
Reduced safety concerns, inconvenience, cost and overall energy associated with other
methods of gas production and delivery.
Produced continuously at point of use.

8. Nitrogen gas production: Membrane technology
Dry, particulate and oil-free compressed air passed through a selectively permeable membrane (Hollow fibre)
material which removes oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
Gas purities of 95 – 99.5 % purity (O2 gas impurity analysis) and typically smaller gas flows (0.5 LPM to 1000
LPM).
95- 98 % purity, 100 -116 psi, 18 – 60 LPM proven for all MS

9. Carbon molecular sieve (CMS)
Physically tough and chemically inert material. Treated activated carbon that forms a pore structure of specific
size corresponding to the gas molecule(s) that are to be separated.
Snowstorm Filling: increases the amount of carbon compacted into the carbon bed.
Optimises contact time of air with CMS bed, prevents ‘channeling’, maximises N2 purity
Prevents breakdown of CMS into dust due to abrasion.
PSA allows regeneration of the CMS
95 % - 99.9999 % dependent velocity through the CMS
Flowrates up to 5000 LPM.

10. Hydrogen gas generation

11. Electrolysis- H2 production
Traditional method of H2 production: Steam reforming: natural gas reforming (high energy consumption).
Onsite H2 generation: electrolyse deionised water to oxygen and hydrogen via a proton exchange membrane
(PEM).
Hydrogen ions diffuse through the PEM membrane whereas oxygen is retained and is then vented to atmosphere.
H2 gas is then further purified using a desiccant drier / PSA drier before being supplied to the application (ensure
no impurities are introduced into the hydrogen gas).

12. Go Green

13. Go green – reduce your carbon footprint
A Genius XE 35 nitrogen generator
35 litres per minute of nitrogen @ 116 psi.
= 18.4 million litres of nitrogen before needing
to be serviced.
To run 1 Mass Spec
> 2000 x ‘G’ size nitrogen cylinders needed
• 135 ‘man packs’
• 2 truck deliveries per week

14. Safety

15. Safety: when things go wrong
A picture says 1000 words…

16. Nitrogen in the lab – doesn’t seem so dangerous right!?
Ref. EIGA Hazards of inert gases and oxygen depletion, IGC Doc 44/09/E
In a lab measuring 5m x 5m x 3m (75m3) the volume of air = 75, 000 L.
Normal O2 content would be 21% = 15, 750 L.
11% O2 content is 8250L (25 % of the small dewar)
= serious risk to your staff
Liquid N2 Dewars: 1L(l) = 696 L of N2(g).
A typical Dewar: 50 litres of liquid N2 = 34,800 L of N2(g)

17. Dangers of Gas Cylinders

18. Safety of Gas Generator
A 50L gas cylinder contains
around 9000 litres of
hydrogen
Therefore releasing 25% of
the contents would reach
LEL
A laboratory measuring 5m x
4m x 2.5m has a volume of
50m3, or 50,000 litres
The lower
explosive
level (LEL)
of H2 is
4.1%
Thus we need
2050 litres of
H2 to reach
the LEL
A H2 generator produces up
to 500 cc/min and would
take 67h (2.7 days) to reach
the LEL (and this assumes no
loss of hydrogen during this
time).

19. H2 generator safety
Very low stored gas volume (< 300cc)
Compared with 9000L in a large cylinder
Low Pressure Operation – Maximum pressure 100psi
Compared with up to 300 bar in a lab cylinder
Automatic shut-down in case of external leak
Ensuring no more than 10L hydrogen gas leaks into the environment
Long time taken to reach hydrogen LEL
It takes days for a hydrogen generator to produce the volume of gas that can be
released by a cylinder in seconds

20. H2 generator safeguards
Full Internal diagnostics performed on start-up
Any leak will stop the system from producing hydrogen and any internal pressure will be vented, with an
alarm alerting the user
Forced air ventilation
Preventing any build-up of hydrogen and/or oxygen in the generator
Continuous Internal gas pressure monitoring
Pressure sensor monitoring to prevent over/under pressure
Mechanical fail safe in case of high pressure
Automatic shutdown and isolation of the cell
When the generator is in alarm status, the following occur:
Current to the cell is stopped, ceasing H2 production
The over pressure relief valve opens to depressurise the system
Audible and visual alarms alert the user to the problem and fault information is displayed

21. Consecutive failures required for critical H2 build-up
1. Hydrogen Vent. Blockage would force Hydrogen to build up
2. Oxygen Vent. Blockage would force Oxygen to build up
3. Hydrogen Exhaust. Hydrogen builds up in the PSA dryers.
4. Proportional Valve Failure. Pressure can now build up in the system
5. Pressure Sensor Failure. All 3 pressure sensors need to fail.
6. Valve Failure. Failure of 4 system valves
7. Non- Return Valve Failure. Failure of all 3 non- return valves
8. Separator Tank Float Blockage. Hydrogen is being forced back into the water
bottle allowing the Hydrogen content to increase
An ignition source would still be required
The system would need to be hermetically sealed

22. Certification
Peak H2 generators meet IEC standards for
laboratory use.
Dilution tests showed that the risk of
explosion does not exist, even if all internal
H2 leaked and fans are not operational
Ensures that both the generator and
its packaging are designed to minimise
any damage in transit so that it will
arrive at the lab in full working order
Evaluated and Certified to ensure
compliance with both EMC and
electrical safety of the system in
the laboratory environment
Certified to ensure it can be safely
operated, without risk of radiation
frequencies causing interference/
damage
Peak hydrogen generators meet
the stringent demands of one of
the World’s most respected safety
marks
ACMA: Regulatory compliance
mark RCM – registration compliance
check: Responsible supplier
All suppliers of electrical equipment
will need to be registered and contain
the RCM label for import and use in
AUS/ NZ

23. ROI

24. High pressure cylinder gas storage: Real cost
Energy usage off site to produce and boost $
Cylinder manufacture and testing $
Logistics cost and fuel $
Staff training
Personnel time $
PPE $
Pipework, gauges and regulators (15 m ruling)
Risk of explosion
Asphyxiation – leaks

25. ROI – 35 LPM

26. ROI – 70 LPM

27. ROI – reticulated solutions: 500 LPM/ 30 m3/h
Liquid N2/ dewar/ bullet Liquid N2 cost (L) $52,2570 $52,2570 $52,2570 $1,567,711
Dewar/ vessle rental $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $15,000
Delivery charges $3900 $3900 $3900 $11,700
O2 monitoring $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $7,500
safety/ PPE/ user training $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $4,500
servicing N/A 0
labour N/A 0
Pipework/ regulators/ installation $10,000NA NA $10,000
Total $1,616,411
OHS - asphyxiation and cryo cold liquid handeling, Wait time for delivery, cost, Environmental impact (fuel for
transportation and energy offsite to generate liquid N2 2 x as high as gas generation), loses due to evaporation.
Peak Gas generator
On-site reticulated solution equipment cost $149,228 $149,228
Package delivery $9,500 $9,500
installation cost $15,000 $15,000
service/ PM Warranty $17,226 $22,416 $39,642
electricity $90,298 $90,298 $90,298 $270,894
labour $7,950 $7,950
Total $492,214 ROI on Peak system : 11 months
Total cost savings over 3 years: 70 %

28. Still not convinced – FlexFlow gas subscription
Understand capital equipment budget is hard to come by and can take 1-8 year process.
The cylinder, reinvented! FlexFlow gas subscription service
Alternative to traditional packaged nitrogen gas supply for your laboratory
Less Hassle: no switching tanks or running our during an important experiment
Less Stress: no worries of maintenance and ownership,
Less cost:
Gas requirement Cylinder / month Liquid / month Peak FlexFlow
35 LPM $ 2,250 $1,691 $1,250
70 LPM $ 4,500 $ 3,382 $1,550

29. Convenience
Gas on-demand, no
cylinders to change
or maintain supply
stocks
Consistency
Consistent gas
quality and supply,
no impurities or
running out of gas
Economy
Eliminate on-going
costs of cylinders,
manage lifetime
running costs
Safety
No pressurized
compressed gas
cylinders in your lab
Green
No repeated gas
deliveries, energy
efficient

30. Become economical and environmentally friendly today
Visit Peak today in conjunction with the team at
Support: anzsupport@peakscientific.com
Authorised partners and re-sellers:
Lab Bench: http://www.labbench.com.au/contactus/
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments https://shimadzu.com.au/contact-us
Agilent Technologies: Agilent_Assist@agilent.com
Thermo Scientific: info@thermofisher.com
Sciex: https://sciex.com/about-us/contact-us
Bruker: sales.anz@bruker.com
CAT air: admin@catair.com.au
Scientific Partners Australia: sales@scientificpartners.com.au
LUP global: info@lupglobal.com
Scientronic Instrument Service: info@scientronic.com.au

31. • Freedom with responsibility
• Fun & passion in everything we do
Our Vision:
To exceed the expectation of our Customers, Colleagues and Suppliers
Our Values:
• Respect customer, supplier, colleague
• Restless constantly striving to improve
Thank you
www.peakgas.com
Template Rev: 2.1
Confidential, unpublished property of Peak Scientific Instruments Ltd. Do not duplicate or distribute. Use and distribution limited solely to authorized personnel. © 2019 Peak Scientific Instruments Ltd.

32. Previous bad ‘wrap’ of gas generators
You need to service: 1 x PM per year is all that is required

33. Do I really need to service – its working fine
Yes!!! 1 x PM per year (2 x for H2)