Method of detecting and or removing trace amounts of condensible vapors from compressed gas

A method of measuring the concentration of condesible vapors in a pressurized compressed gas which may not contain condensation nuclei, comprising the steps of providing said compressed gas at a high pressure, filtering said compressed gas to remove particles present in said high pressure gas, expanding said gas to a low pressure through a critical orifice means to form droplets of condensed vapors, measuring the droplet concentration of condensible vapors in the expanded gas, and comparing said measure to a threshold concentration.

A method of measuring the concentration of condensible vapors in a pressurized compressed gas which may not contain condensation nuclei comprising the steps of providing said compressed gas at a high pressure, filtering said compressed gas to remove particles present in said high pressure gas, expanding said gas to a low pressure through a critical orifice means to form droplets of condensed vapors, varying the pressure drop across the critical orifice means and measuring the droplet concentration as a function of pressure drop.

A method of removing trace amounts of condensible vapors in a stored, pressurized compressed carrier gas which may not contain condensation nuclei, comprising the steps of providing said compressed gas at a high pressure, filtering said compressed gas to remove particles present therein, expanding said gas to a lower pressure through a critical orifice means, the pressure drop between said high and lower pressures being sufficient to cause the onset of droplets formation by said condensible vapors in the expanded carrier gas, maintaining the temperature of said expanded carrier gas at a value sufficient to avoid evaporation of the droplets, and capturing the droplets to remove the condensed vapors from said carrier gas.

A method of measuring the concentration of condensible vapors in a gas compressed under high pressure, comprising the steps of providing said compressed gas at a high pressure, filtering said compressed gas to remove particles present in said high pressure gas, expanding said gas to a low pressure through a critical orifice to form droplets of condensed vapors, measuring the droplet concentration of condensible vapors in the expanded gas, and comparing said measure to a threshold concentration.

A method of removing trace amounts of condensible vapors in a compressed carrier gas stored at a high pressure, comprising the steps of providing a compressed gas at a high pressure, filtering said compressed gas to remove particles present therein, expanding said gas to a lower pressure through a critical orifice means, the pressure drop between said high and lower pressures being sufficient to cause the onset of droplet formation by said condensible vapors in the expanded carrier gas, maintaining the temperature of said expanded carrier gas at a value sufficient to avoid evaporation of the droplets, and capturing the droplets to remove the condensed vapors from said carrier gas.