Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions:


Pressure Drop Across Filters and Purifiers:


Filters


Purifiers


Specialty Products

Please contact our Tech Support for specific questions about our specialty products.







General Questions

GQ1:
What is the difference between the various molecular sieves? How to select the Molecular Sieve properly?
A:
For the removal of water from gases, there is little difference between 3A, 4A, 5A and 13X. The equilibrium adsorbed water capacities for these four types of molecular sieves are about 20%. Therefore, for drying air or inert gases, any one of them, or their mixture in any proportion, will work in the same manner.

The main difference between them is pore size. The nominal pore sizes for 3A, 4A, 5A and 13 X are .3, .4, .5 and 1.0 nanometers, respectively. 3A is mainly applied to absorb water molecules in drying natural gas and oil gases, especially in drying Catalytic Splitting Decomposition Oil gases and Alkenes. 4A is mainly used to make static dehydration in airtight gas or liquid system. In addition, it can remove the molecules of ethyl alcohol, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and ethylene. 5A is mainly applied to separate isomerism alkenes. Meanwhile, it can also absorb the molecules which can pass through in 3A and 4A molecular sieve and whose diameters are less than 0.5 nm. All molecules which can be absorbed on Molecular Sieve Type 3A, 4A, and 5A can be absorbed on Type 13X. In addition, Type 13X can absorb molecules of larger critical diameters, such as aromatics and branched-chain hydrocarbons.


GQ2:
What are the bulk densities of the materials used in your filters and purifiers?
A:
The bulk densities of the various fill materials are as follows:
  • 13X beads used in purifiers: 677 g per liter
  • 13 pellets used in filters: 636 g/liter
  • Q5: 861 g/liter
  • 13X + Indicating Drierite® in filters: 872g/liter
  • 13X + Q5 used in purifiers: 818 g/liter


GQ3:
How do I get a Material Safety Data Sheet for the active ingredients in your products?
A:

GQ4:
What is the correct orientation of your filters and purifiers?
A:
In order to avoid channeling, we recommend that all our units be mounted vertically, with the gas stream flowing upward through the units. If you need to arrange more than one unit in series, the preferred flow pattern is shown below:



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Pressure Drop Across Filters and Purifiers

PRQ1:
What is the pressure drop across your filters and purifiers?
A:
The following table gives approximate pressure drops for all our units (filters as well as purifiers):


Unit Name Pressure drop in mm water per lpm flow of air or nitrogen at room conditions Maximum recommended flow rate, lpm Pressure drop at maximum recommended flow rate in mm water
Filters      
DGF-125 5.0 5 25.0
DGF-250 5.0 5 25.0
DGF-CX-250 6.0 5 30.0
RGF-125-200 6.6 5 33.0
RGF-250-200 6.6 5 33.0
RGF-125-400 6.6 5 33.0
RGF-250-400 6.6 5 33.0
RGF-R1-300B 6.0 6 36.0
RGF-R1-500B 6.0 10 60.0
RGF-R1-1000B 7.0 20 140.0
RGF-R1-3000B 8.0 60 480.0
RGF-R1-300 6.0 30 180.0
RGF-R1-500 6.6 50 330.0
RGF-R1-1000 7.0 100 700.0
RGF-R1-2250 7.0 100 700.0
RGF-R1-6600 8.0 300 2400.0
RGF-R1-10000 8.0 300 2400.0
RGF-R1-15600 8.0 1500 12000.0
RGF-R1-20000 8.0 2000 16000.0
RGFB-125-200 6.6 5 33.0
RGFB-250-200 6.6 5 33.0
RGFB-125-400 6.6 5 33.0
RGFB-250-400 6.6 5 33.0
RGFEZ-125-200 6.6 5 33.0
RGFEZ-250-200 6.6 5 33.0
RGFEZ-125-400 6.6 5 33.0
RGFEZ-250-400 6.6 5 33.0
Purifiers      
DGP-125-R1 5.1 5 25.5
DGP-250-R1 5.1 5 25.5
DGP-125-R2 2.6 5 13.0
DGP-250-R2 2.6 5 13.0
DGP-R1-1000B 6.4 20 127.3
DGP-R1-3000B 5.5 60 332.3
IOT-125 Contact Tech Support 2 Contact Tech Support
IOT-250 Contact Tech Support 2 Contact Tech Support
RGP-125-R1 1.5 7 10.3
RGP-250-R1 1.5 7 10.3
RGPB-125-R1 1.5 7 10.3
RGPB-250-R1 1.5 7 10.3
RGP-R1-300B 9.7 6 58.4
RGP-R1-500B 9.8 10 98.5
RGP-R1-1000B 6.4 20 127.3
RGP-R1-3000B 5.5 60 332.3
RGP-R1-300 9.7 30 58.4
RGP-R1-500 9.8 50 98.5
RGP-R1-1000 6.4 100 127.3
RGP-R1-2250 6.4 100 332.3
RGP-R1-6600 8.0 660 700.0
RGP-R1-10000 8.0 1000 8000.0
RGP-R1-15600 8.0 1500 12000.0
RGP-R1-20000 8.0 2000 16000.0


If you gas mixture is different from air or nitrogen, please contact our Tech Support for an estimate of the pressure drop.

Note 1: To convert (mm water)/(lpm flow) to psi/(cfm flow), multiply (mm water/lpm) by .04015.

Note 2: to convert mm water to psi, multiply mm water by .00142.



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Filters

FQ1:
What are the active ingredients in your filters?
A:
The active ingredients in our see-through filters are a mixture of 13-X molecular sieve and Indicating Drierite® (standard) or an indicating silica gel (special request, same price). For larger filters, the active material is 13-X molecular sieve. We can also provide any combination of the following ingredients upon special request: Indicating Drierite®, Drierite®, indicating and non-indicating silica gel, and the molecular sieves 3A, 4A, 5A and 13X. In addition, we also make specialty filters for hydrocarbon removal, using activated carbon.

The Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all these ingredients are available on our web site.


FQ2:
Do you use silica gel in your filters?
A:
The standard ingredients in out filters are molecular sieve 13X and indicating Drierite, however, we can provide filters containing any desiccant molecular sieves 3A, 4A, 5A, 13X, indicating and non-indicating Drierite and silica gels upon special request.


FQ3:
What is the moisture removal capacity of your filters?
A:
The moisture-holding capacities of our units for an incoming air stream at 10% relative humidity at room temperature and pressure are:


Unit Name Moisture-holding capacity in grams of water
DGF-125 29
DGF-250 29
RGF-125-200 29
RGF-250-200 29
RGF-125-400 58
RGF-250-400 58
RGF-R1-300B 43.5
RGF-R1-500B 77
RGF-R1-1000B 145
RGF-R1-3000B 494
RGF-R1-300 43.5
RGF-R1-500 76.8
RGF-R1-1000 145
RGF-R1-2250 312
RGF-R1-3000 435
RGF-R1-6600 957
RGF-R1-10000 1450
RGF-R1-15600 2262
RGF-R1-20000 2900
RGFB-125-200 29
RGFB-250-200 29
RGFB-125-400 58
RGFB-250-400 58
RGFEZ-125-200 29
RGFEZ-250-200 29
RGFEZ-125-400 58
RGFEZ-250-400 58
FQ4:
What is the moisture concentration of the exit gas from your filter?
A:
At room conditions, the moisture content of the exit gas is 0.005 mg/liter, corresponding to a dew point of -63 ° C, as long as the flow rates are within the limits indicated for the specific units.


FQ5:
What gaseous compounds are incompatible with your filters?
A:
The transparent unbreakable tubing used in DGF filters is clear PVC. The one used in RGF filters is acrylic.

PVC is affected by a number of compounds. Among them are acetic acid, boric acid, formic acid, hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, ammonium chloride, aniline, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, ethanol, methanol, and phenol. This, of course, is not a complete list, and there may be other chemicals that attack PVC.

Acrylics are affected by a number of chemicals. Among them is acetone, gasoline, benzene, carbon tetrachloride. This is not a complete list, and there may be other chemicals that react with acrylics.

To find out if our filters are compatible with your specific gas stream, please contact out Tech Support .


FQ6:
What is the maximum operating pressure for your filters?
A:
The maximum operating temperature and pressure for each of our units is listed in the catalog on our web site.


FQ7:
What is the maximum operating temperature for your filters?
A:
For see-through units made of PVC and acrylic, the maximum operating temperature is 100 °C. For the units made out of aluminum, carbon steel and stainless steel, the maximum operating temperature is 200 °C.



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Purifiers

PQ1:
What is the principle behind your purifiers (oxygen traps)?
A:
The active material in our purifiers consists of metal oxides that have been reduced to an activated metallic form. When they come in contact with oxygen, they react with it to form metal oxides. This way, we truly remove oxygen from the gas stream, rather than converting it into something else (such as water) and reintroducing it back into the gas stream.


PQ2:
Can the purifier be used to remove moisture from an inert gas stream?
A:
Yes, our purifiers will remove moisture from an inert stream, however, if moisture is the main impurity you are trying to remove, we suggest you use our filter units for greater efficiency and capacity.


PQ3:
What are the active ingredients in your purifiers?
A:
The active ingredients in our standard purifiers (except IOT-125 and IOT-250) are Q5 (a mixture of metal oxides) and molecular sieve 13X. We can also provide any combination of the following ingredients upon special request: Q5, activated carbon, and the molecular sieves 3A, 4A, 5A and 13X.

The active ingredients in IOT-125 and IOT-250 are a mixture of metal oxides, as described in the MSDS for IOT.


PQ4:
Can your purifiers be used to remove oxygen from carbon dioxide?
A:
Yes.


PQ5:
How long would your purifiers last in open air?
A:
For a few seconds. The purifiers are designed to take up trace amounts of oxygen from inert gas streams. The oxygen in the air will quickly saturate the purifiers, and make them unusable. We suggest that you store the purifiers in their original packing, and take them out of the packing only for the final installation in your application.


PQ6:
How large a purifier unit do I need for my application?
A:
The following table lists the maximum flow rate for each of our purifiers. Please select the next higher size purifiers so that you do not exceed the maximum flow rate.


Unit Name Maximum recommended flow rate, lpm
DGP-125-R1 9
DGP-250-R1 9
DGP-125-R2 9
DGP-250-R2 9
DGP-R1-1000B 72
DGP-R1-3000B 245
IOT-125 2
IOT-250 2
RGP-125-R1 14
RGP-250-R1 14
RGPB-125-R1 14
RGPB-250-R1 14
RGP-R1-300B 20
RGP-R1-500B 38
RGP-R1-1000B 72
RGP-R1-3000B 245
RGP-R1-300 20
RGP-R1-500 38
RGP-R1-1000 72
RGP-R1-2250 155
RGP-R1-6600 480
RGP-R1-10000 725
RGP-R1-15600 1125


PQ7:
What gases are compatible with your purifiers?
A:
All inert gases are compatible with the purifiers. In addition, hydrogen, hydrocarbons (except acetylene), chlorinated or fluorinated hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are also compatible. Introduction of oxidizing gases (e.g., oxides of nitrogen, halides, such as chlorine) into the purifiers should be avoided, since they will react with the active ingredients, unless they are present in trace quantities and you would like to remove them.


PQ8:
I need a purifier that operates at high pressure. Can you supply one?
A:
Yes. Please contact techsupport@labclear.com with the details, and we’ll work with you to develop a unit especially for you.


PQ9:
I need a purifier larger than your largest (20 liter) unit. Can you make one for me?
A:
Yes. Please contact techsupport@labclear.com with the details, and we’ll work with you to develop a unit especially for you.


PQ10:
Can the purifier be used to remove trace quantities of oxygen from a stream of nitrous oxide?
A:
No. Nitrous oxide is an oxidant, just like oxygen, so it will quickly react with the active ingredient in our unit, and make it unusable.


PQ11:
Can your purifiers be used to separate oxygen from other gases?
A:
The purifiers are designed to remove trace quantities of oxygen from inert gases. The removed oxygen is chemically bound with the active ingredient, and is not recoverable.


PQ12:
What is the maximum operating pressure for your purifiers?
A:
The maximum operating temperature and pressure for each of our units is listed in the catalog on our web site.


PQ13:
What is the maximum operating temperature for your purifiers?
A:
The following table lists the maximum temperature for each of our purifiers.


Unit Name Temperature C°
DGP-125-R1 100 C°
DGP-250-R1 100 C°
DGP-125-R2 100 C°
DGP-250-R2 100 C°
DGP-R1-1000B 200 C°
DGP-R1-3000B 200 C°
IOT-125 100 C°
IOT-250 100 C°
RGP-125-R1 100 C°
RGP-250-R1 100 C°
RGPB-125-R1 100 C°
RGPB-250-R1 100 C°
RGP-R1-300B 200 C°
RGP-R1-500B 200 C°
RGP-R1-1000B 200 C°
RGP-R1-3000B 200 C°
RGP-R1-20000B 200 C°
RGP-R1-300 200 C°
RGP-R1-500 200 C°
RGP-R1-1000 200 C°
RGP-R1-2250 200 C°
RGP-R1-6600 200 C°
RGP-R1-10000 200 C°
RGP-R1-15600 200 C°


PQ14:
Can the purifiers remove CO from a gas stream?
A:
No, the CO will pass through the purifier unaffected. It will not be adsorbed or oxidized.


PQ15:
What effect will trace quantities of sulfur have on the purifier?
A:
It depends on what form the sulfur is in. Please contact Tech Support with the specifics.



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Specialty Products Please contact our Tech Support for specific questions about our specialty products.