Nitrogen is essential to many manufacturing and industrial processes, but how it is supplied can have a significant impact on operating costs, reliability and day-to-day efficiency.
For businesses that regularly rely on bottled or bulk nitrogen deliveries, generating nitrogen on site can offer a practical alternative. Instead of continually purchasing, storing and managing delivered gas, an on-site nitrogen generator uses compressed air to produce nitrogen where it is needed.
Here are nine reasons why it could be worth considering for your site.
1. Reduce the cost of buying nitrogen
Delivered nitrogen comes with an ongoing cost. Depending on your supply arrangement, this can include the nitrogen itself as well as delivery, rental and other associated charges.
An on-site nitrogen generator allows businesses to produce their own nitrogen from compressed air, reducing their reliance on continually purchasing gas from an external supplier.
For sites with consistent nitrogen demand, this can provide significant savings over the lifetime of the system.
2. Reduce reliance on deliveries
When nitrogen is critical to production, relying on regular deliveries introduces another dependency into your operation.
Generating nitrogen on site means you are no longer as reliant on delivery schedules to maintain your nitrogen supply. Provided the system has the required compressed air and power available, nitrogen can be generated when it is needed.
This can help businesses gain greater control over a utility that may be essential to their production process.
3. Improve security of supply
Running low on nitrogen can quickly become a production problem.
An on-site system can provide a reliable supply based around the requirements of your operation, helping reduce the risks associated with delayed deliveries, shortages or unexpected increases in demand.
The system can also be designed around factors such as flow, pressure and purity to make sure it is suitable for the application.
4. Generate the purity you actually need
Not every application requires the same nitrogen purity.
One of the advantages of on-site generation is the ability to specify a system around the purity required by the process, rather than automatically using higher-purity nitrogen than necessary.
Understanding the actual requirement is important because nitrogen purity can influence the size, efficiency and running cost of the generation system.
5. Reduce nitrogen storage requirements
Bottled and bulk nitrogen requires suitable space for storage as well as processes for receiving, handling and monitoring supplies.
Generating nitrogen on site can reduce the amount of stored nitrogen required and free up valuable space elsewhere on site.
For businesses where space is already limited, this can be an important consideration.
6. Reduce gas handling
Regular cylinder deliveries don’t end when the nitrogen arrives. Cylinders still need to be received, moved, stored and replaced safely.
An on-site nitrogen generation system can reduce the amount of manual handling associated with traditional cylinder supplies, simplifying the way nitrogen is managed around the facility.
7. Produce nitrogen when demand requires it
Nitrogen requirements aren’t necessarily constant.
A correctly specified generation system can be designed around the site’s actual demand and operating pattern, giving businesses greater control over when and how nitrogen is produced.
Understanding both current and future demand is important when selecting a system, particularly if production volumes or nitrogen requirements are expected to change.
8. Reduce transport associated with nitrogen supply
Regular nitrogen deliveries mean vehicles travelling to and from site throughout the year.
Producing nitrogen where it is used can reduce the number of deliveries required and the transport associated with supplying nitrogen to the facility.
For businesses looking at ways to reduce the wider environmental impact of their operations, this is another area worth considering.
9. Integrate nitrogen generation with your compressed air system
Nitrogen generation shouldn’t be considered in isolation.
The performance of an on-site generator depends on having the right compressed air supply and air treatment in place. Looking at the complete system means factors such as compressor capacity, air quality, pressure, flow, storage and nitrogen demand can all be considered together.
At Direct Air, we can assess the wider compressed air system alongside the nitrogen requirement to help determine whether on-site generation is suitable and how the system should be specified.
Is on-site nitrogen generation right for your business?
On-site generation won’t be the right answer for every application. The decision should be based on factors including current nitrogen consumption, purity requirements, operating hours, compressed air availability and the cost of the existing supply method.
For businesses with regular nitrogen demand, however, moving away from delivered nitrogen could provide greater control over supply while reducing ongoing costs and simplifying nitrogen management.
If you’re considering on-site nitrogen generation, speak to the Direct Air team. We can look at your current nitrogen usage and compressed air system to help identify the most suitable approach for your site.