Benefits of on-site nitrogen generation

Nitrogen is required for many manufacturing facilities. Generally, this involves having the gas delivered in pressurised bottles at the required purity level or having on-site gas tanks reloaded.

In the past, businesses would store bottled nitrogen and have their whole manufacturing process reliant on prompt gas or liquid nitrogen delivery. Previously, businesses relied on deliveries of bottled nitrogen, making their entire manufacturing process vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. Now, affordable technology has made on-site nitrogen generation possible for businesses that can’t afford not to have nitrogen. Many industries now produce nitrogen, and this trend is only increasing.

At Anglian Compressors, a Branch of Atlas Copco Compressors, we offer an alternative to help you avoid these potential pitfalls. We can help you generate your own nitrogen via an on-site nitrogen skid.

What is On-Site Nitrogen Generation?

An on-site nitrogen generator is a compact unit that lets you produce nitrogen gas on your premises. This integrated package, often called a nitrogen skid, separates nitrogen from the surrounding air directly at your facility. It includes all the key components, such as an air compressor, filtration, and a nitrogen gas generator, designed to operate reliably with minimal input. This alternative method to traditional pressurised cylinder or bulk liquid tank deliveries offers numerous advantages across financial, operational, safety, and environmental domains.

By utilising compressed air, the system separates gases to deliver high-purity nitrogen as needed, eliminating the need for bottled nitrogen or bulk liquid deliveries. This helps eliminate the inconvenience of a delivered nitrogen supply and ensures you always have a reliable source of nitrogen for your operations.

Whether you need a small amount of nitrogen or a continuous flow, these systems are flexible and economical. They are commonly used in many industrial applications where nitrogen quality and availability are critical.

Why Switch to On-Site Nitrogen Generation?

Many businesses in the UK are making the switch from traditional nitrogen supply methods to on-site generation. Here’s why:

• Reduced Downtime: On-site nitrogen generation eliminates the risk of production downtime caused by late or missed deliveries.
• Cost Savings: Generating your own nitrogen can significantly reduce your nitrogen costs, often providing a rapid return on investment.
• Increased Control: You gain complete control over your nitrogen supply, ensuring you always have the purity and flow rate you need.

The Inefficiencies of Traditional Nitrogen Supply

When businesses used to get nitrogen from external suppliers, many hassles came with it:

• Locked-in Contracts: When you purchase nitrogen from a vendor, you are usually required to make a long-term commitment. This can be problematic if your nitrogen needs change or if your business experiences fluctuations in demand.
• Delivery Blues: Vendors often have limited delivery schedules, which can mean that you have to wait days or even weeks for a nitrogen delivery. This can disrupt your operations and lead to lost productivity.
• Surprise Price Hikes: The price of gas or liquid nitrogen can fluctuate significantly, and you are at the mercy of your vendor’s pricing policies. This can make it difficult to budget for your nitrogen costs.
• Those Extra Fees: In addition to the cost of the nitrogen itself, you may also have to pay tank rental fees and other hidden costs. These can add up over time and make nitrogen a costly proposition.
• Running on Empty: If you have a sudden spike in total demand for nitrogen gas, you may run out of supply. This can lead to production downtime and other problems.
• Thinking Green: The transportation of liquid nitrogen requires a significant amount of energy, and there is also the environmental impact of boil-off losses.
• Storage: Using valuable storage space in large quantities is expensive and wasteful. Not to mention the regular maintenance of these storage tanks.

In short, onsite nitrogen generation is a more efficient and cost-effective way to obtain pure nitrogen gas.

How On-Site Nitrogen Generation Works:

On-site nitrogen generation systems use compressed air to extract nitrogen directly from the surrounding environment. To understand how nitrogen generators work, it’s important to know the two main technologies. The system connects to your compressed air line and separates nitrogen from oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapour using advanced filtration methods. This provides a continuous and reliable nitrogen supply without the need for nitrogen cylinders or bulk liquid nitrogen. The purity level can be adjusted to meet the specific requirements of each process, whether you need 95% or up to 99.9% purity. These systems are commonly used in industry and are designed to produce as much or as little nitrogen as needed, helping your business improve efficiency and reduce costs.

There are two main technologies used:

• Membrane nitrogen generator filters compressed air through fine membrane fibres that allow nitrogen to pass while removing unwanted gases like oxygen and moisture
  
• Pressure swing adsorption nitrogen generators pass compressed air through twin towers filled with carbon molecular sieve, capturing other gases and leaving high-purity nitrogen behind.
  

This type of gas generation provides a reliable and economical source of nitrogen. It removes the inconvenience of a delivered nitrogen supply, reduces waste, and promotes energy efficiency across various industrial applications.

PSA vs. Membrane Nitrogen Generators: Which is Right for You?

Choosing the right nitrogen generator technology is crucial for optimising performance and cost-effectiveness. Here’s a comparison of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) and Membrane systems:

Feature	PSA Nitrogen Generators	Membrane Nitrogen Generators
Nitrogen Purity Levels	Up to 99.999% (ultra-high purity achievable)	Up to ~99.5% (typical industrial range)
Best Suited Applications	High-purity requirements such as electronics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and laboratories	Moderate-purity applications such as food packaging, tyre inflation, fire prevention, and laser cutting
Initial Investment	Higher upfront capital cost	Lower upfront capital cost
Maintenance Requirements	More complex: multiple valves, CMS replacement, periodic servicing	Simpler: fewer moving parts and minimal servicing
Energy Consumption	Generally higher, especially at very high purity levels	Generally lower for lower-purity nitrogen production
Footprint / Space Requirements	Larger footprint due to dual towers and air treatment	Compact design with smaller footprint

The Many Benefits of On-site Nitrogen Generation

Adopting onsite nitrogen offers many advantages. Here is a comprehensive overview of the benefits of switching to on-site nitrogen generation:

Financial and Cost Reduction Benefits

A primary driver for adopting on-site nitrogen generation is the significant reduction in operational costs.

• Substantial Cost Savings: On-site generation is the most economical choice and can eliminate up to 90% of nitrogen costs. Generally, generating nitrogen on-site is often around half the cost of purchasing bottled nitrogen. For example, one of our clients, a food packaging company in Peterborough, reduced their nitrogen costs by 40% after switching to an on-site system.
• Elimination of External Supplier Charges: You eliminate ongoing costs associated with leasing cylinders or tanks, along with variable delivery surcharges and delivery charges.
• Cost Predictability: Without fluctuating delivery price spikes or hidden fees, businesses gain cost predictability and can more accurately control their operating budgets.
• Rapid Return on Investment (ROI): On-site systems generate nitrogen at a much lower cost per cubic metre. The ROI is often realised quickly, typically within 6 to 24 months.
• Zero Waste: Traditional supply methods result in wasted gas from residual pressure in returned cylinders (often 10% or more) or “boil-off” evaporation from liquid tanks. On-site generation avoids this waste because generation enables you to produce only the volume required.
• Avoid Over-Specification: You avoid paying for higher purity or high pressure levels than your application actually requires, a common issue with delivered gas.

Operational Control and Reliability

On-site generation transfers control of the gas supply from a third-party vendor directly to the facility owner.

• Complete Supply Control: Businesses gain complete control over their nitrogen supply, eliminating dependence on third-party deliveries.
• 24/7 Availability and Continuous Supply: Nitrogen is available 24/7. Nitrogen generation systems continuously produce high purity nitrogen on demand, ensuring a continuous supply and minimising the risk of production downtime due to a missed delivery.
• Purity Control: Operators can set the exact nitrogen purity level needed for each job directly on-site. This avoids producing gas at unnecessarily high purity levels, which, in turn, helps reduce energy costs.
• Predictable Production: A continuous and reliable supply allows for predictable production scheduling and maximises the uptime of equipment.
• Scalability: The nitrogen supply can grow with your business, scaling precisely as your business changes.

Safety and Work Environment Improvements

Generating nitrogen on-site significantly improves workplace safety compared to handling high-pressure delivered gas.

• Eliminates High-Pressure Risks: It eliminates the safety risks associated with high-pressure cylinders (which can be pressurised to 200 bar or more) and cryogenic liquids.
• Reduces Handling Injuries: On-site generation removes the potential for worker injuries caused by manually managing the delivery, unloading, and relocation of heavy gas cylinders.
• Avoids Cryogenic Exposure: Staff avoid exposure to high-pressure liquid nitrogen gas, removing the potential for serious burns or other cryogenic injuries.
• Safer Storage: Less gas is stored on-site at any given time, which is inherently safer.
• Minimised Operator Involvement: A typical nitrogen generator requires minimal direct operator involvement once installed.

Environmental and Sustainability Advantages

On-site generation supports corporate sustainability goals by tackling emissions and wasteful energy use.

• Reduced Carbon Footprint: Producing nitrogen at your location means one less delivery truck on the road. That means less gas being released into the atmosphere, to reduce your business’s overall carbon footprint.
• Elimination of Road Transport Emissions: It ends road transport dependency for gas supply, reducing transport-related emissions.
• Greater Energy Efficiency: Modern systems are highly energy-efficient. They avoid the energy waste involved in converting gas to a liquid state for transportation and back again post-delivery.
• Supports Environmental Compliance: Reducing transport-related emissions makes it easier to meet environmental management standards like ISO 14001.

Integrating On-Site Nitrogen Generation with Your Existing Compressed Air System

On-site nitrogen generators typically integrate seamlessly with existing compressed air systems. The generator connects to your compressed air line, using the compressed air as a feedstock to produce nitrogen. Anglian Compressors can assess your current system and advise on the best integration strategy, ensuring optimal performance and efficiency.

Applications of On-Site Nitrogen 

Nitrogen generators are a practical solution that’s been adopted by various industries to meet their nitrogen needs more efficiently. There are tons of applications of nitrogen throughout production processes. Let’s delve into some sectors that are tapping into the benefits of producing nitrogen right where they need it:

• Food and Beverage: Freshness is essential in this industry. Nitrogen generators are used in the food packaging process to keep food fresher for longer. This method, known as modified atmosphere packaging, replaces oxygen in the air (which can make food spoil) with nitrogen, ensuring the product remains in tip-top condition for consumers.
• Electronics Manufacturing: Nitrogen is essential for preventing oxidation in soldering, maintaining clean environments, and ensuring stronger solder joints. Also, nitrogen makes a protective atmosphere for semiconductor manufacturing, as oxygen can damage the delicate materials used in these devices. Having an on-site nitrogen supply means manufacturers can maintain a steady flow without any hitches.
• Metalworking: Nitrogen is used to prevent oxidation and corrosion of metal during welding, cutting, and other metalworking processes. When used for applications like laser cutting, nitrogen leaves a clean, oxide-free edge with no need for secondary finishing. It is also used to create a protective atmosphere for metal fabrication, as oxygen can weaken the metal.
• Pharmaceuticals: Safety and high-purity nitrogen are non-negotiable in the pharmaceutical world. Nitrogen is used to create aseptic environments for the production of pharmaceuticals, as it is an inert gas that will not contaminate the products. It is also used to preserve pharmaceutical products, as it can help to prevent them from degrading.

Industries such as plastics, chemical processing, and offshore drilling also benefit from scalable, energy-efficient nitrogen solutions.

In essence, on-site nitrogen generators provide a tailored solution for industries that require consistent and reliable nitrogen. By generating nitrogen on the spot, these sectors can maintain quality, reduce costs, and ensure they always have the supply they need.

Anglian Compressors: Your On-Site Nitrogen Generation Partner

At Anglian Compressors, we don’t just sell nitrogen generators; we provide complete on-site nitrogen solutions tailored to your specific needs. Our services include:

• System Design and Installation: We design and install nitrogen generation systems that integrate seamlessly with your existing compressed air infrastructure.
• Maintenance and Support: We offer comprehensive maintenance and support packages to ensure the reliable operation of your nitrogen generator.
• Air Audits and Energy Efficiency Assessments: We can assess your current nitrogen usage and identify opportunities to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

As a Premier Distributor for Atlas Copco, we offer a wide range of high-quality nitrogen generators, including both PSA and Membrane systems. Our experienced engineers can help you choose the right system for your application and provide expert installation and support.

Anglian Compressors, a Branch of Atlas Copco Compressors: On-Site Nitrogen Generation

On-site nitrogen generation is a practical solution for many industries. It can help businesses to improve quality, reduce costs, increase reliability, improve safety, and be environmentally friendly. If you are considering on-site nitrogen for your business, our experts can help your business find the right solution. You can send us a message or contact us!

Common Problems and Troubleshooting for Nitrogen Generators

Like any industrial equipment, nitrogen generators can experience occasional problems. Here are some common issues and troubleshooting tips:

• Purity Issues: If the nitrogen purity is lower than expected, check the air compressor filters and the nitrogen generator’s filters. Replace them if necessary.
• Flow Rate Issues: If the nitrogen flow rate is too low, check the air compressor pressure and the nitrogen generator’s pressure settings.
• System Alarms: Refer to the nitrogen generator’s manual for specific alarm codes and troubleshooting steps.

Anglian Compressors offers 24/7 breakdown support to help you resolve any issues quickly and efficiently.

FAQ

What are the main benefits of using an on-site nitrogen generator system?

On-site systems offer numerous advantages, including the ability to continuously produce high-purity nitrogen from compressed air. They help your business reduce reliance on delivered gas, eliminate supply delays, and cut long-term costs. These systems are designed to meet your total nitrogen gas demand efficiently and reliably.

How does nitrogen generation reduce operational issues?

Nitrogen generation eliminates the inconvenience of waiting for deliveries, handling nitrogen cylinders, or storing bulk liquid nitrogen. By producing nitrogen gas on your premises, you maintain a steady, controlled supply that improves safety, supports uptime, and lowers transport-related emissions.

Where are nitrogen generator systems commonly used?

Nitrogen generators provide solutions for a variety of industrial uses, from food packaging to laser cutting. They are ideal for industries that require high-purity nitrogen from compressed air and eliminate the inconvenience of delivered gas. Installation is simple: just connect the outlet to your existing equipment.

What maintenance is required for an on-site nitrogen generator?

Regular maintenance is essential for ensuring the reliable operation of your nitrogen generator. This typically includes:

• Filter Replacement: Replacing the air compressor filters and the nitrogen generator’s filters on a regular basis.
• System Checks: Performing regular system checks to identify any potential problems.
• Component Inspections: Inspecting the nitrogen generator’s components for wear and tear.

Anglian Compressors offers comprehensive maintenance plans to help you keep your nitrogen generator in top condition.

How much space is required for an on-site nitrogen generator?

The space required for an on-site nitrogen generator depends on the size and type of system. However, most systems are relatively compact and can be installed in a small area. Anglian Compressors can assess your facility and recommend the best nitrogen generator for your available space.

Which Solution is Best for Your Business?

The best solution for your business depends on your specific nitrogen requirements, budget, and space constraints. Anglian Compressors offers a free consultation to help you determine the right nitrogen generation solution for your needs. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.