Knowledge Sharing: Working Principle of Carbon-Loaded Nitrogen Purification Equipment

In numerous industrial sectors, such as electronics manufacturing, chemical synthesis, and metal heat treatment, there is an extremely high demand for nitrogen purity. High-purity nitrogen effectively prevents impurities from negatively impacting production processes, ensuring product quality and production safety. Carbon-loaded nitrogen purification equipment, as a highly efficient nitrogen purification device, operates based on rigorous scientific principles and practicality. It can stably produce ultra-high-purity nitrogen to meet the stringent demands of industrial production. The working principle of this equipment will be detailed below.

The operation of carbon-loaded nitrogen purification equipment is a systematic process, primarily achieving nitrogen purification through the synergistic effects of two core stages: the oxygen removal process based on a carbon-loaded catalyst and the impurity removal process utilizing pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology.

In the deoxygenation process, the carbon-loaded catalyst plays a crucial role. A carbon-loaded catalyst uses carbon as a carrier and supports specific active components. It possesses high catalytic activity and stability, efficiently promoting oxidation reactions under suitable conditions. When nitrogen containing residual oxygen enters the reactor, the residual oxygen reacts with the catalyst under its catalytic action. This reaction is highly targeted, primarily focusing on oxygen molecules in the nitrogen. During the reaction, oxygen molecules are converted and combine with relevant components in the catalyst, ultimately producing carbon dioxide. Through this chemical reaction, the residual oxygen in the nitrogen is effectively consumed, significantly reducing the oxygen content and laying the foundation for further purification. It should be noted that this oxidation reaction requires specific temperature and pressure conditions, which the equipment maintains through a control system to ensure consistent and reliable deoxygenation.

After the deoxygenation step, impurities such as carbon dioxide and water remain in the nitrogen. These impurities, if not removed, will affect the final nitrogen purity, so deep purification is necessary using pressure swing adsorption (PSA). PSA is a separation technology based on the difference in adsorption capacity of adsorbents for different substances. Its core lies in utilizing the varying adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for impurities at different pressures. The equipment is filled with specific adsorbents that exhibit strong adsorption capacity for polar molecules like carbon dioxide and water, but weak adsorption capacity for nitrogen. During the adsorption stage, the system is under high pressure, allowing carbon dioxide and water molecules to be adsorbed by the active sites on the adsorbent surface, separating them from the nitrogen. The nitrogen is then discharged as product gas from the adsorption tower outlet. When the adsorbent reaches a certain saturation level, the system enters the desorption stage. By reducing the system pressure, the adsorbent's adsorption capacity for impurities weakens, and the adsorbed carbon dioxide and water desorb from the adsorbent surface, exiting the system through specific channels. This regenerates the adsorbent, restoring its adsorption capacity. PSA typically uses a multi-tower switching operation, with multiple adsorption towers alternately undergoing adsorption and regeneration to ensure continuous nitrogen purification and stable output of high-purity nitrogen.

After these two main processes, residual oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water impurities in the nitrogen are thoroughly removed, resulting in ultra-high-purity nitrogen.

Because carbon-loaded nitrogen purification equipment efficiently and stably removes impurities such as hydrogen and oxygen that significantly impact industrial production, the ultra-high-purity nitrogen produced meets the extremely stringent purity requirements of various industrial applications. For example, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, even trace amounts of hydrogen or oxygen can degrade chip performance or cause failure. The high-purity nitrogen provided by this equipment ensures a clean environment for chip manufacturing. In some precision chemical synthesis reactions, the presence of hydrogen and oxygen can cause unwanted side reactions, affecting product yield and purity. Using nitrogen produced by this equipment as a protective or reactant gas effectively prevents such issues. Therefore, carbon-loaded nitrogen purification equipment plays an irreplaceable role in industrial fields with strict hydrogen and oxygen requirements.