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Central gas supply reduces the number of gas cylinders needed, removes them from the laboratory workplace, and relocates them to a centralized controlled area where gas can be piped to multiple points of use. Image: Airgas.
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Expert consultation during the gas management system design process could make a big difference in both safety and expense for a new or existing lab.
Safe, reliable gas and chemical installations are vital when building new laboratories or remodeling current facilities. One wrong move could be costly. Gas safety, purity requirements, maximum flow needs, future usage increases, lab expansions, supply mode delivery, change-outs, and lab aesthetics are all important. That’s why gas system manufacturers and suppliers are working with architectural and engineering (A&E) firms early in laboratory design and construction phases. Airgas, Radnor, Pa., a supplier of laboratory gases and gas equipment, demonstrates this type of collaboration.
Typically A&E firms design the entire building, spec out the equipment, and design the systems that will be installed before any part of the laboratory is built. However, says Todd Morris, director of laboratory markets at Airgas, “Airgas has run across some cases where laboratories have failed to be designed to the optimum level they should.”
“Safety is paramount and is the first variable that we look at when designing a system,” says Morris. In addition, the purity of the gas must be maintained from the source point to the use point. Everything in between—the tubing, the connections, regulators, changeover manifolds, purification systems, point-of-use equipment—must be “designed and connected appropriately, and also one must assess that there are no material issues,” explains Morris. In short, the gas should remain the same from the cylinder or bulk tank to the actual applications and the use point.
Airgas works directly with the architects, engineering contractors, and general contractors to develop the best gas management solutions possible for the project before the planning process begins. To facilitate this, Airgas schedules lunch-and-learn sessions with A&E firms to teach about proper gas management systems, provide a detailed overview of Airgas’ capabilities, and define safety measures that can be put into place when designing proper gas management systems. Morris says, “A&E firms do lunch-and-learns quite a bit. Some schedule a couple a month. Some schedule a couple a week. It is based on the size of the A&E organization.”
With its expertise in gas management system design and installation, Airgas has worked with many A&E partners over the years, including an R&D lab for a flavors manufacturing company. “Once awarded the project based on our lab design and equipment capabilities, we worked with the A&E firm, contractors, and lab managers at this flavors R&D lab to customize the most effective gas management system based on their needs and requirements,” says Morris.
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Point-of-use valve assemblies and high purity tubing in a new analytical laboratory. Image: Airgas.
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Airgas representatives met with each lab manager to determine the specific analytical applications, specialty gas purity and usage requirements, and gas use point locations in the laboratory. With this information, Airgas was able to design the entire central gas management system, and “provide custom-designed gas panels and point-of-use equipment for each laboratory,” says Morris. For this laboratory, the central gas supply approach allowed for greater safety, convenience, and efficiency for the laboratory customers, and allowed them to control the gas supply while maintaining the high quality and purity of gas from the source to the point of use, according to Morris. This approach also reduced the number of gas cylinders needed and opened up space for the laboratory and its users for research.
Airgas also provides cryogenic systems design and engineering solutions for both on-site and off-site cryorepositories. According to Airgas, a life science research center asked the company to design an on-site cryorepository that would effectively and safely store all vital research samples using the liquid nitrogen freezers found within the building. Airgas worked with an A&E firm, site project managers, and lab managers to understand the needs of this laboratory. Based on the feedback, Airgas provided a turnkey cryorepository system, as well as criteria for the laboratory to follow to maintain the optimum effectiveness and cost efficiency of the system.
Published in R & D magazine: Vol. 52, No. 1, February, 2010, p.19.
