Ultra-high purity gases are a must for gas chromatography. Impurities in carrier gases can lead to issues with analytical identification and retention times and risk damage to the gas chromatography column. However, ultra-high purity gases require a very precise manufacturing process and, as a result, they often have a price tag to reflect this. There are also several complications with understanding the labeling of ultra-pure gas grades.
Many gas chromatography instruments require 6.0 grade gases, meaning the gas must be 99.9999 % pure. However, not all 6.0 grade gases are equal in terms of impurities present. Despite the purity level being the same, the two gases may have different amounts of compounds, such as water and oxygen, that are particularly problematic for gas chromatography columns.
One solution is Air Products’ ultra-high purity and ultra-low impurity BIP® gases →. BIP® gases are a unique line of products with less than 10 ppb of oxygen and 20 ppb of water. The advantage of Air Products’ line of BIP® gases → is that these ultra-low impurities levels are achievable without external filters on the gas lines due to an innovative new cylinder with an integrated purifier that can help not just improve gas impurity levels, but also help with cost-saving for gas purchases.
Cost Savings with BIP® Gases
Air Products’ BIP® gases have a self-contained purifier within the cylinder that ensures any impurities are eliminated before they leave the cylinder, helping to prevent issues such as column bleed in chromatography applications. Many chromatography users will leave a significant amount of gas, often 15-25%, unused in the cylinder to prevent pulling additional impurities from the cylinder walls.
With BIP® gases, all of the gas in the cylinder can be used without fear of increased contamination, as any impurities are filtered out by the purifier. Overall, BIP® gases allow for less frequent gas refills and more efficient cylinder usage.
Eliminating the need for in-line filters with Air Products’ BIP gases means that any costs and time associated with their purchase disposal and maintenance are also saved.
You may consider that running in-line purifiers alongside BIP® technology gases could offer the best of both worlds, but in fact Air Products recommends that inline purifiers aren’t used in combination with BIP® gases, as they are in reality likely to introduce impurities into the gas stream.
Another indirect cost saving with using BIP® gases for chromatography is the prolongation of the life of your GC column. Even trace amounts of water and oxygen result in more rapid degradation, and while columns are considered a consumable part of GC instruments, they can be very costly to replace and replacement necessitates instrument downtime.
Calculating Costs
Considering making the change to BIP® gases for your chromatography experiments? Air Products has developed the BIP® gas cost-saving calculator → to enable you to see exactly how BIP® gases can save money for your laboratory set up.
The BIP® gas cost calculator → takes a number of factors into consideration, including the number of gas chromatography instruments, laboratory operating hours, and the price of a cylinder.
Use the BIP® gas cost calculator → today to find out what savings you could make.