Speaking on gasworldtv’s Spotlight on Specialty Gases: Trends in Markets and Operations webinar, Klotz said that whilst he believes purchasing a cylinder with a special coating on it is the best way to source a cylinder for specialty gases, he understands that those in the field have existing fleets of cylinders and equipment that could be repurposed, so purchasing a new cylinder is not always a viable option.
On the subject of repurposing cylinders, Klotz highlighted some of the specialist products and technologies that Weldcoa offer in order to make cylinders more appropriate for storing specialty gases.
He said, “The importance of having these specialty coatings on aluminum cylinders that are used for high-end specialty gas product filling is a hugely important part of our industry and I whole-heartedly believe in really going with a cylinder that’s made for that purpose.”
“However, a lot of us that are already out in the field have existing fleets of cylinders and equipment, therefore that’s not always the option that we can go with.”
“Resurfacing a cylinder for a different purpose, or just altogether putting it into reactive gas service, it is beneficial to go through some sort of an extensive process to make sure that we can minimise any sort of impurities that might be clinging onto the inside surface of that cylinder.”
“What we’ve [Weldcoa] developed in addition to a cylinder processing oven that we currently make is what we call a cylinder passivation system. Traditionally, before manufacturers like Luxfer had the ability to put these specialised coatings on the inside of cylinders, a lot more work was done by the gas distributor or the manufacturer of the gases going into the cylinder to prep the inside surface.”
“So, what we’ve [Weldcoa] done is developed a specialised manifold that really helps to finish the prep work inside of an untreated cylinder by using a combination of different methods, as well as different types of gases for cleaning out the inside of the cylinder and that’s been a huge development because of the necessity of it.”
High Integrity Prep System
One of Weldcoa’s offerings that can help with the preparation that Klotz referred to during his discussion is the High Integrity Prep System, which is used to prepare the cylinders for processing prior to going to the blend cell for filling.
Weldcoa’s system is engineered and designed to be high integrity, with all welded construction and VCR or VCO connection points. This allows a lower ultimate vacuum to be reached which would result in high purity straight gas or more stable reactive gas mixture.
To watch Klotz’s talk with gasworldtv in full click here. Alternatively, you can watch the full Spotlight on Specialty Gases: Trends in Markets & Operations webinar here.