Air Products - BIP technology

Significance of the topic

Ensuring the highest purity gases is critical in analytical chemistry tasks where even trace impurities may compromise results or damage sensitive equipment. Techniques such as gas chromatography, isotope ratio analysis and glove box inerting demand carrier and process gases with minimal levels of oxygen, moisture and hydrocarbons to maintain data integrity, extend component lifespans and reduce maintenance requirements.

Objectives and Study Overview

This document presents the BIP® (Built-In Purifier) technology designed to deliver ultra-high purity gases directly from cylinders. It aims to outline the technology’s design principles, impurity specifications, performance advantages over conventional gas cylinders and its cost-saving impacts in practical laboratory and industrial applications.

Methodology and Instrumentation

• BIP® cylinder design featuring an internal purifier operating at high cylinder pressure to remove active impurities before gas exit
• Use of ultra-pure base gases with minimum purity grades from 6.0 up to 6.8 for select gases
• Analytical methods for performance evaluation including gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and electron capture detection

Main Results and Discussion

• Impurity specifications achieved: oxygen ≤10 ppb, moisture ≤20 ppb and total hydrocarbons below 100 ppb
• Availability of specialized BIP® grades, including BIP® Plus (up to 6.8 purity) and BIP® ECD (<1 ppb halocarbons) for demanding electron capture applications
• Experimental comparison shows non-BIP® cylinders exhibit rising moisture levels as pressure drops, whereas BIP® cylinders maintain low impurity levels throughout
• Up to 20 % additional gas utilization per cylinder by eliminating early change-over at low pressures
• Case study of helium carrier gas demonstrates extension of GC column life from approximately 25 days to over 100 days
• Performance stability in FAME analysis and improved baseline stability in GC-FID without inline purifiers

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Elimination of external inline purifiers reduces capital cost, service downtime and chemical waste disposal
• Enhanced analytical reproducibility and instrument uptime in gas chromatography laboratories
• Extended lifecycle of catalysts and inerting media in glove box systems
• Reliable supply consistency across the full cylinder lifetime for isotope analysis and sensitive detection methods

Future Trends and Opportunities

• Development of higher purity grades and tailored gas mixtures for emerging analytical techniques and semiconductor manufacturing
• Integration of built-in purification in on-site gas generation systems
• Expansion into process gas applications requiring stringent impurity controls
• Synergies with advanced detectors such as mass spectrometry to further lower detection limits and improve data quality

Conclusion

BIP® technology offers a robust solution for delivering ultra-high purity gases by integrating a high-pressure purifier within the cylinder. This innovation ensures consistently low impurity levels, reduces operational complexity and maintenance costs, and significantly extends the usable life of both gas and analytical components. Laboratories and industrial users benefit from improved analytical performance, higher productivity and reduced overall cost of ownership.