초록 ▼

A process for determining the amount of argon contamination present in high purity oxygen employing a combination apparatus including a gas chromatography apparatus, a pressure swing adsorption apparatus, and a conduit connecting the two apparatus to each other. The gas chromatography apparatus can

A process for determining the amount of argon contamination present in high purity oxygen employing a combination apparatus including a gas chromatography apparatus, a pressure swing adsorption apparatus, and a conduit connecting the two apparatus to each other. The gas chromatography apparatus can be run with its column at about 70.degree. F. (21.1.degree. C.) or higher. A sample of the high purity oxygen is fed to the pressure swing adsorption apparatus, where a portion of the oxygen is removed, and then the thus modified sample is fed through the conduit to the gas chromatography apparatus. Since some of the oxygen has been removed with the pressure swing adsorption apparatus, the graph generated by the gas chromatography apparatus shows 2 resolved peaks, namely a small argon peak preceding a large oxygen peak, even though the column of the gas chromatography apparatus is not being cooled to cryogenic temperatures with a cryogen. Also, instead of first subjecting the high purity oxygen to the pressure swing apparatus, a sample is fed directly to the gas chromatography apparatus, which produces a graph that has only 1 large peak due to the oxygen which masks the small argon peak. By comparing the 2 graphs, an accurate determination can be made of the amount of argon contamination in the high purity oxygen.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A process for determining how much argon contamination is present in a gas comprising a minor amount of argon as contamination and a major amount of oxygen so that the gas has a high oxygen to argon volume ratio, the process comprising the steps of:(A) feeding a sample of

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A process for determining how much argon contamination is present in a gas comprising a minor amount of argon as contamination and a major amount of oxygen so that the gas has a high oxygen to argon volume ratio, the process comprising the steps of:(A) feeding a sample of the gas from a container of the gas to a pressure swing adsorption apparatus adapted for selectively removing oxygen from air;(B) subjecting the gas sample to pressure swing adsorption therein to remove a portion of the oxygen from the gas sample and provide a modified gas sample having a smaller oxygen to argon volume ratio than the gas sample originally had;(C) subsequently feeding the modified gas sample, after the modified gas sample leaves the pressure swing adsorption apparatus, to a gas chromatography apparatus being adapted to generate gas chromatography graphs and including a column run at a temperature of at least about 70.degree. F. (21.1.degree. C.), in order to generate from the modified gas sample, a gas chromatography graph having a large peak from the oxygen in the modified gas sample and a small peak from the argon in the modified gas sample with the small argon peak preceding and being resolved from the large oxygen peak;(D) comparing the gas chromatography graph obtained from the modified gas sample to another gas chromatography graph obtained by subjecting another sample of the gas from the container directly to the gas chromatography apparatus with the column run at a temperature of at least about 70.degree. F. (21.1.degree. C.), free of first subjecting the other gas sample to pressure swing adsorption, and the other gas chromatography graph having a large unitary peak being predominantly from the oxygen in the other gas sample and masking a small peak from the argon in the other gas sample; and(E) obtaining from comparing a more accurate determination of the amount of argon contamination in the gas than can be obtained from subjecting a sample of the gas to a gas chromatography process free of being preceded by a pressure swing adsorption process.