3-minute read
If your facility uses bulk liquid nitrogen delivered to a storage tank, you’re paying for more than just the gas. With boil-off and off-gassing losses, pressure relief venting, delivery surcharges, and tank rental fees, there can be a significant gap between what you are paying for and what you’re actually using.
Product Loss Before You Ever Use It
Liquid nitrogen must be stored at about -196°C (-320°F) to prevent boiling. While tanks are well-insulated to maintain a cold temperature, heat transfer from the warmer environment surrounding it is unavoidable. This results in continuous vaporization, or boil-off, limiting your usable nitrogen supply.
In a bulk system, nitrogen gas pressure builds up within the tank, creating an imbalance. To maintain a safe operating pressure, the gas may vent out, ultimately reducing the amount of nitrogen that can be used for your operations. During idle hours when the pressure is not being regulated, an unknown amount of nitrogen will be released from the tank, known as off-gassing.
When your supplier comes to fill up your nitrogen tank at their scheduled time, you won’t know how much nitrogen you’ve actually used versus how much was lost. You’ll be charged the same amount even if off-gassing occurs.
The Invoice Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
Bulk liquid nitrogen contracts often include several cost layers that may not show up clearly on an invoice:
- Tank rental or lease fees
- Fuel surcharges as gas prices rise and certain delivery fees per visit
- Minimum usage thresholds (in a given timeframe whether you use it or not)
- Hazmat handling fees
- Price adjustments tied to supplier contracts instead of your own individual usage
If you add these costs throughout the year, you’ll see that the cost per unit of usable nitrogen is significantly higher than the per-unit price listed. This means your liquid nitrogen cost compounds quickly for high-consumption operations like laser cutting shops, food packaging plants, laboratories, and more.
On the invoice, you may see a charge of 97 cents per hundred cubic feet (CCF) of nitrogen. However, after adding the extra fees, you could be paying over $1.50 per CCF. With an on-site nitrogen generator like NOVAIR’s NITROSWING®, you can produce the same amount of nitrogen for 20-30 cents.
Produce Only What You Need With On-Site Nitrogen Generation
An on-site nitrogen generator solves the problem of paying for nitrogen that never gets used. Nitrogen is produced on demand at your required purity and flow rate. Without a venting storage tank, there’s no risk of temperature or pressure imbalances between nitrogen and its environment. Generating your own nitrogen also means no cylinder handling or storage, no supply chain risks, and no delivery schedule or fees. You can create and use exactly what you need, no more, no less.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Obvious
Without a detailed cost breakdown, it’s easy to overlook the rising costs of your nitrogen supply. However, every month with a bulk liquid supply contract is another month paying for nitrogen that doesn’t even get used.
The comparison is simple. Bulk liquid nitrogen is an unpredictable, recurring operational cost, while a nitrogen generator carries an upfront investment for predictable electricity costs to produce just what you need.
| Speak with an expert to start using on-site nitrogen. |
FAQ’s
Savings depend on current nitrogen spend and consumption. A strong ROI can be seen within a few months to about a year due to improved operational efficiency, waste reduction, and decreased delivery costs.
Nitrogen generators vary in cost depending on your facility’s purity, flow rate, and pressure requirements. The size of the generator is dependent on the space of your facility and your operational usage. Speak with a US-based representative for a personalized quote on a NOVAIR nitrogen generator.
Most nitrogen generators use Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Technology by removing oxygen and impurities in ambient air, leaving only nitrogen. Membrane technology is used in other systems to separate nitrogen molecules from ambient air.
About NOVAIR USA
Headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York, NOVAIR USA, part of NOVAIR Groupe, is an industry leader in on-site nitrogen generators for industrial and healthcare applications. NOVAIR has been manufacturing air and gas systems worldwide since 1977. Our reliable, USA-made solutions are designed for safety and predictable operating costs. We also serve multiple healthcare and industrial sectors with our oxygen generators and medical gas equipment.
NOVAIR USA — On-Site Gas Generation Since 1977
