As oxygen is a highly reactive gas, proper cleaning and cleanliness control are crucial to its safe handling. High-purity gases can pick up contaminants that increase the risk of unintended combustion. Reducing this risk is a key consideration when operating O2 compressors and gas boosters. It requires the use of oxygen-cleaned equipment.
Oxygen-cleaned compressors undergo a thorough cleaning process to ensure they are suitable for use with oxygen-rich gases in critical applications. This helps to minimize the risk of contamination and ensure the highest level of safety when handling oxygen.
The cleaning process for oxygen-cleaned compressors involves the removal of potentially hazardous substances such as oils, grease and dirt. These contaminants can react with oxygen, sometimes resulting in an oxygen fueled fire. Regularly following best practices for maintenance and cleaning oxygen compression equipment helps users to avoid this unwelcome scenario.
Proper guidance on handling oxygen products is key to avoiding accidents and ensuring personnel and equipment safety. Haskel has developed stringent guidelines for oxygen cleaning best practices. We utilize them in the design and manufacture of our oxygen boosters and systems. These guidelines meet the US MIL-STD-1330D, UK DEF STAN 68-278 and QAD-154 standards.
We have been successfully implementing our high-purity gas cleaning processes in a variety of service scenarios, both military and commercial. When following our best practices, organizations can reduce risks and ensure safer procedures in the usage of oxygen-cleaned products.
There is extra cost associated with thoroughly dismantling, cleaning and reassembling high-purity gas-handling equipment in a clean room. However, the costs of not following such a process, including potential combustion risks, far exceed the expense.