Nitrogen generators produce high-purity nitrogen from compressed air using activated-carbon molecular sieves.
Nitrogen generators produce high-purity nitrogen from compressed air using activated-carbon molecular sieves.
| Type | Nitrogen Output (Nm3/h) | Air Consumption (Ndm3/min) |
|---|---|---|
| N-0,5 | 0,54 | 30 |
| N-1,2 | 1,26 | 61 |
| N-2 | 2,1 | 101 |
| N-3 | 3,2 | 153 |
| N-5 | 5,4 | 252 |
| N-8 | 8,3 | 387 |
| N-10 | 10,7 | 490 |
| N-15 | 15,5 | 708 |
| N-20 | 19,9 | 905 |
By connecting multiple column pairs in parallel, significantly higher nitrogen output can be achieved: capacities of 200–300 m³/hour present no particular difficulty.
Nitrogen purity requirements vary widely between applications. Inerting operations may require only 95% purity, while electronics manufacturing—such as lead-free soldering—often requires 99.99% or higher purity.
For this reason, it is advisable to determine the required purity level for each individual application in order to select the optimally sized generator.
Depending on the purity level delivered by the nitrogen generator, the output varies as shown in the table below. The data indicate how much nitrogen a unit can produce at different purity levels, assuming that the output at 99.5% purity is taken as 100 units.
| Purity (%) | 96 | 99 | 99,5 | 99,9 | 99,95 | 99,99 | 99,999 |
| Output (% of 99.5% baseline) | 197 | 128 | 100 | 70 | 59 | 42 | 25 |
The system is controlled by a Siemens microprocessor-based PLC. The controller operates on a 24 V DC power supply, with an electrical consumption of only 40 W.
The generator automatically starts and stops based on the nitrogen tank pressure, according to preset pressure thresholds. If the unit has been idle for an extended period, a self-cleaning cycle is executed upon startup.
Maintenance is limited to periodic inspection of the compressed-air filters. If a filter element becomes clogged—indicated by the built-in indicator—it must be replaced.
Nitrogen generators are designed with a modular architecture, meaning that a single controller can operate multiple adsorber pairs. As a result, if nitrogen demand increases after the generator has been commissioned, additional adsorber pairs can be integrated into the system. After expansion, the new and existing adsorbers operate in parallel.
When performing an expansion, it is important to note that only adsorber modules of the same type as the original unit may be added. For example, a 10 m³/hour generator can be expanded to 20 m³/hour by adding an additional 10 m³/hour adsorber pair, but it cannot be expanded to 15 m³/hour using a 5 m³/hour adsorber pair.