GENERAL

This subsection will describe various specialty compressed air and gas systems typically used for organic and inorganic chemistry, physics, and biological laboratories, and those used for research and development purposes. The gases used in these types of facilities are characterized by low delivery pressure, low and intermittent volume, and high purity requirements of the gas and of the delivery system. It is extremely rare that the quantity of pure gases used for laboratory and research purposes would justify large bulk storage. For this reason, this section will concentrate on cylinder supply, smaller cryogenic bulk storage tanks, and the generation of such gases. Larger bulk supply and storage systems will be discussed in the specialty industrial gas section of this chapter where production and other uses require large storage volumes.

CODES AND STANDARDS

The building codes and standards impacting the design and installation of the various laboratory gas systems have been put in place to protect the safety and health of operating personnel and building occupants, as have the building code requirements concerning fire and structural consequences of accidents. There are no mandated code requirements concerned with sizing or purity.

Minimum purity requirements are listed in the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) standards for various gases called Commodity Standards. Often, the actual, onsite purity requirements are higher than those listed in the standards and will be determined by the proposed use of the gas and the standards of the user. The CGA also has material and dimensional...