While helium remains the carrier gas of choice in most situations, primarily due to its inert properties and its low level of impurities, hydrogen is increasingly being considered a suitable carrier.
Gary Yates, specialty gas consultant at Air Products, commented: ‘Even though the world’s known helium reserves are expected to last for another 300 years, industries that rely on fast and efficient gas analysis to deliver reliable measurements are already looking around for alternatives’.
Responding to growing interest in hydrogen as a viable carrier and fuel gas option, Air Products has recently compiled research to compare the performance of ultra-high purity hydrogen (with critical impurities 100 x lower than standard grade hydrogen) with helium and nitrogen. These tests revealed that hydrogen performs well, delivering reliable results with minimal baseline noise.
The company has developed a short film explaining these benefits.
‘Using ultra-high purity BIP hydrogen for certain demanding analytical applications will significantly lower detection levels and provide an assurance of improved accuracy’, Yates commented.
‘For some volume users, it may bring efficiency gains too’.
Adapted from press release by Emma McAleavey