Gas mixer for use on N Sea diving support vessel
An electronic gas mixer has been ordered for use on the new diving/construction support vessel DSV Bibby Sapphire, to mix oxygen and heliox gases, for divers working at up to 300 meters.
A specially designed electronic gas mixer has been ordered by Bibby offshore from Witt Gas Techniques, the Warrington based gas safety, control, mixing and analysis equipment supplier, for use on their new diving/construction support vessel DSV Bibby Sapphire. This gas mixer is a stationary system that will be used to mix oxygen with heliox, the breathing gas made from oxygen and helium, used by deep sea divers working at depths up to 300 meters. It will mix the correct percentage (user defined) of oxygen and heliox for the required depth; the deeper the depth the less oxygen is required in the gas.
It has a better than +/-1% absolute mixing precision.
It has two gas inlets, one of which is oxygen and the other heliox.
From the inlets it mixes the heliox with the required oxygen content.
It has a built in oxygen gas analyser to monitor the oxygen levels in the mixture, whilst pressure switches monitor the gas supply pressure.
A touch screen control is used to input the required mixture compositions.
From the mixer the gas goes to a compressor and onto the storage tubes for use by the divers.
DSV Bibby Sapphire operates in the North Sea and worldwide.
The vessel deploys divers to depths between the surface and 300 meters.
The deeper the depth the divers are deployed to, more decompression is required.
The vessel operates a diving technique to maximise the working time of the divers, which involves them living at a pressure equivalent to the water pressure at which they are working.
The divers live in a 15 man saturation dive chamber on board the vessel and transfer at the same pressure to a diving bell, which is then deployed to the working depth.
The divers can operate at this depth for periods up to eight hours.
They return to the bell, which returns to the surface and they transfer back to the chamber and continue to live at this pressure.
This pattern is repeated until the job is complete or they have reached the time limit imposed for this cycle, which is 28 days including decompression.
A storage pressure of 11 bars absolute at 100 metres working depth would require a decompression of approximately 5 days.
The 94 metre long DSV Bibby Sapphire is fitted with a DP class 2 dynamic positioning system and has a transit speed of 15 knots.
It also includes a heavy lift crane, 850sq.m working deck space, a helideck, fire fighting capability and accommodation for up to 197 persons.
Carl Long, General Manager, Witt Gas Techniques said: ‘Our gas mixers are used in a wide variety of industries ranging from food production to welding.
This particular gas mixer is a derivative from a mixer (MG50-2ME+SOA) used to supply high purity (synthetic) air in hospitals, so it is designed to be very reliable and it has a number of built-in safety features, including an optical alarm being triggered if the inlet pressure is too low, when the system automatically shuts down.
We have previously supplied mixers for professional diving, with one of our mixers being used on Calypso, Jacques Cousteau’s research vessel.’
Nitrogen costs for laboratory applications cut
Parker Balston has launched three innovative nitrogen generators that significantly reduce the costs of producing nitrogen for LC/MS, ELSD, Turbovaps and other laboratory applications.
Parker Balston has launched three innovative nitrogen generators that significantly reduce the costs of producing nitrogen for LC/MS, ELSD, Turbovaps and other laboratory applications. The latest Balston NitroFlow Lab, N2-04 and NitroVap systems enable a continuous, on-demand supply of pure nitrogen to be generated in-situ, and provide an extremely cost effective, simple and reliable alternative to purchasing nitrogen cylinders or dewars. The three latest systems are all based on proven Parker nitrogen generation technology, each producing nitrogen from compressed air.
The air is filtered by high efficiency coalescing filters to remove all contaminants down to 0.01 micron.
Hollow fibre membranes subsequently separate the clean air into a concentrated nitrogen stream and oxygen enriched permeate stream, which is vented from the system.
The membrane modules are compact and lightweight and are up to 100 times more permeable than competing membranes.
This allows the pressure and feed temperature of the compressed air supply to operate at lower levels than the competitive nitrogen generators.
Consequently, this extends the operating life of the system, cuts capital cost and energy consumption.
The Parker Balston NitroFlow Lab generator is a self-contained system that has been specially designed for use with LC/MS, and LC/MS/MS instruments and is fully compatible with APCI, API and ESI interfaces.
The Parker Balston N2-04 is a miniature bench or wall mountable generator, specifically designed for ELSD (Evaporative Light Scattering Detectors) and low flow laboratory applications.
The miniature NitroVap-1LV and NitroVap-2LV Nitrogen generators offer a high level of output from a small footprint, but can be operated without an electrical supply.
The NitroVap systems are specifically designed for Turbo Vaps, sample concentrators and evaporators.
They can produce up to 350 lpm of pure evaporation grade nitrogen that will supply over 100 evaporator nozzle positions.
NitroVap nitrogen generators incorporate an ‘economy’ mode to conserve compressed air consumption when the sample concentrators are not in use.
A comprehensive European network of Parker and Parker distributors technical and application specialists are on hand to support Parker nitrogen generators.
Kinesis is UK laboratory gas generator distributor
domnick hunter, leading manufacturer of gas generators and compressed air treatment solutions, has appointed Kinesis as a primary distributor for its range of laboratory gas generators in the UK.
domnick hunter scientific appoints Kinesis as primary distributor in the UK for its laboratory gas generators domnick hunter scientific, the leading manufacturer of gas generators and compressed air treatment solutions, announces the appointment of Kinesis as a primary distributor for its range of laboratory gas generators in the UK. The range includes UHP Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Zero Air and CO2 Free Air generators. The generators provide an uninterrupted, safe and reliable analytical gas supply that matches the gas flow, purity and pressure requirements of the latest generation of laboratory instruments.
Laboratory gas generators are used routinely to supply gas to applications including, but not limited to, LC/MS, GC, FTIR and THA in industries such as clinical and academic research, pharmaceuticals and food testing.
Kinesis specialise in instrument supply, but expertise in service and support are behind the strategic partnership.
Maxigas helps the food packaging budgets
Maxigas offers a range of nitrogen generators from domnick hunter that is helping to revolutionise the food and drink manufacturing and packaging industries; see them sat the PPMA.
domnick hunter has a long history of partnering with food and beverage manufacturers to assist them in the removal of oxygen, particulate contamination and micro-organisms at each stage of the production process. Maxigas is a range of nitrogen generators from domnick hunter that is helping to revolutionise the food and drink manufacturing and packaging industries. Maxigas generates nitrogen from compressed air, effectively enabling manufacturers to make their own nitrogen.
In an industry marked for its highly competitive nature and driven by consumer and retailer demand for quality items, Maxigas is the ideal solution to Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) needs.
MAP is a process in which nitrogen, a completely inert gas, is flushed into packaged foods to prevent oxidation and aerobic spoilage by typically reducing oxygen levels to below 1%.
MAP also helps to maintain flavour and crispness without using artificial preservatives.
Many food manufacturers use MAP to enhance product integrity and extend shelf-life.
A secondary use of gas flushing is to prevent the deflation of bagged goods, an important consideration in an age where packaging is of huge branding significance.
Shelf-life has critical implications for both manufacturers and retailers, extended use-by dates make new geographic markets logistically and commercially viable.
Maxigas is a safer and cost effective alternative to high-pressure cylinders and dewars.
Other advantages include fewer on-going cylinder costs such as refills, delivery costs and order processing.
Additionally, manufacturers benefit from reduced down-time associated with changing cylinders through an on-demand food grade nitrogen supply.
Maxigas has an innovative and automatic regenerative self-clean function, allowing for continuous operation and minimal maintenance.
It also has a compact design for valuable space saving advantage.
Originally conceived in 1995, Maxigas is manufactured within an ISO 9001:2000 quality system and is used by some of the world’s largest manufacturers.
UK customers include leading dairy and snack food producers.
Maxigas was honoured with a UK Design Council Millennium Award and was recognised for its innovation by a Queens Award in 2002.
Two new designs were added to the range in 2003.
The system can be easily retrofitted to existing packaging operations through the addition of a compressed air line or by simply replacing traditional gas sources.
In addition to food manufacture, Maxigas is utilised in applications as diverse as beverage dispensing, inerting of chemicals, pharmaceutical manufacture, laser cutting and heat treatment of metals.
SS gas regulating stations for food packaging
Witt Gas Techniques has introduced a new series of compact stainless steel gas regulating stations for use with non-corrosive gases used in the food packaging industry.
Witt Gas Techniques, the Warrington, Cheshire based gas safety, control, mixing and analysis equipment supplier has introduced a new series of compact stainless steel gas regulating stations for use with non-corrosive gases used in the food packaging industry, to regulate gas supplies to gas flushing machines and gas mixers on packing machines being used with gas flushing machines. These regulating stations are available for use with single to multiple installations with up to four tapping points. They are ergonomically designed for easy installation, especially for wall mounting.
Features are, sintered stainless steel 316L filters at the process inlet valve, stainless steel diaphragm type shut off valves which are optimised for low internal volumes with on/off position indicators and have a stainless steel regulator with highly precise control accuracy.
The pressure regulators are equipped with pressure gauges for outlet pressure showing the relevant pressure range.
They are also fitted with a stainless steel non-return valve in the outlet of the regulator.
The maximum inlet pressure is 40 bar, with maximum outlet pressures of 1.5, 4, 10 and 20 bar, whilst the operating temperature range is -30C to +60C.
They are also suitable for ECD applications and have been tested for use with oxygen.
Zero-air generator provides instrument air easily
The new portable Perma Pure Zero-Air generator provides a supply of inexpensive, instrument-quality compressed air at up to 18 litres per minute without the need for bulky, hazardous gas cylinders.
Perma Pure has introduced a new, improved, portable Zero-Air generator for producing high purity, particle free, dry air. The easy-to-use generator provides a supply of inexpensive, instrument-quality compressed air at up to 18 litres per minute without the need for bulky, hazardous gas cylinders. Its portability makes it especially well suited for use with remote monitoring sites and mobile testing facilities.
The Zero-Air generator removes many contaminants including CO, CO2, NOx, SO2, water vapour, hydrocarbons, acid vapours, particles and bacteria.
At the heart of the unit is the Perma Pure patented Nafion membrane dryer technology.
Lightweight and maintenance free, it dries the air to a zero centigrade dew point or better, depending on pressure and flow settings.
An ultraviolet light source acts as a sterilizer and oxidiser to assist the removal of organics and nitrogen oxides.
The Zero-Air generator comes in a rugged, environmentally sealed case with convenient carrying handle and weighs only 11.4 kg.
It merely requires connection to a standard 110 or 220V AC power supply to operate.
The maximum pressure of the air is internally regulated to 30 psig (2.07 bar).
A panel mounted flow meter and pressure gauge indicate compressor output.
Zero-Air generators are available exclusively from Perma Pure and its distributors.