Speciality Gases
What are Speciality Gases?
Speciality gases are high-purity gases or precisely blended gas mixtures used in demanding industrial, scientific, research and calibration applications. They are produced to extremely high purity levels, typically between 99.999% (Grade 5.0) and 99.99999% (Grade 7.0).
Typical Applications:
- Calibration gases for gas detectors, environmental analysers, and medical instruments
- Ultra-high-purity (UHP) gases used in chromatography and semiconductor manufacturing
- Electronic process gases used in semiconductor and solar-cell production
- Rare and noble gases for lasers, aerospace, lighting, and scientific research
- Medical and laboratory gases for diagnostics, research, and cryopreservation
Major industries include pharmaceuticals, semiconductor manufacturing, environmental monitoring, chemical processing, and healthcare.
Why is Moisture Control so Critical?
For most speciality gas applications, moisture is the most critical contaminant. Even a few parts per billion (ppb) of water vapour can affect product quality, damage equipment, or invalidate analytical measurements.
To maintain gas quality, speciality gas systems use electropolished tubing, high-efficiency moisture purifiers, and precision moisture analysers. These analysers include dew point sensors, chilled mirror hygrometers, capacitance sensors, electrolytic hygrometers, and spectroscopic moisture analysers.
Moisture contamination in speciality gases can have serious consequences, including:
- Unwanted Chemical Reactions and Corrosion, caused by speciality gases reacting rapidly with moisture to form corrosive acids or alkalis. These reactions can damage regulators, valves, and stainless-steel pipework, resulting in equipment failure and potentially hazardous leaks
- Measurement Accuracy, where speciality gases are used as calibration gases for analytical instruments. Moisture contamination introduces measurement errors and can produce incorrect calibration baselines, resulting in inaccurate measurements in processes
- Semiconductor Manufacturing Contamination, where water molecules in speciality gases being used in the process can cause unwanted oxidation on silicon wafers and create defects such as blistering or film delamination, reducing manufacturing yield
- Catalyst Damage, caused by moisture in speciality gases used in chemical processes binding to catalyst surfaces, reducing their activity and affecting process efficiency
- Cryogenic Systems Compromise, where trace moisture in the speciality gases maintaining very low temperatures, freezes to form ice crystals that can block precision valves, flow controllers, and small-bore tubing
Enhancing Moisture Control with the FPG
The FPG, the world’s first self-contained transportable dew-frost point calibrator, provides traceable calibration for all common moisture analysers over a measurement range of 10 ppb to 5,000 ppmv, ensuring confidence in moisture measurements across the complete production process.
The FPG offers significant benefits, including:
- Reducing calibration costs by eliminating exchange and replacement programmes
- Minimising engineering time, transport costs, and instrument downtime
- Enabling on-site calibration without disconnecting the instrument from the monitoring or control system
- Supporting complete system verification, including the measurement and control loop
- Maintaining traceable calibration records to support ISO 9001 and other quality management systems
- Eliminating change-control documentation associated with replacing calibrated sensors
Universal Compatibility
The FPG is compatible with virtually all moisture analysers and hygrometers.
Interchangeable FPG-PA probe adapters accommodate a wide range of metric and imperial thread sizes, probe lengths, and instrument designs. For chilled mirror hygrometers and other analyser types, the rear-panel sample loop allows simple connection using sample tubing.
Simple Moisture Calibration with the FPG
The FPG provides a simple and reliable method for calibrating moisture analysers. It requires only an AC power supply, allowing calibration to be carried out in a laboratory, workshop, cleanroom, or directly on-site.
Connect the FPG to the unit under test (UUT) using the appropriate connection or probe adapter. Ensure all connections are leak-tight, as even small leaks will increase stabilisation time and reduce calibration accuracy. The user manual describes simple leak tests to verify system integrity.
Set the first (lowest) dew/frost point and allow the system to stabilise before recording the measurement. Repeat this process for each required calibration point.