Air Products - BIP technology

Significance of High-Purity Gas Supply

High-purity specialty gases are essential for advanced analytical and industrial applications, where even trace contaminants can compromise results, damage equipment, or reduce efficiency. BIP® technology addresses these challenges by ensuring the lowest possible levels of oxygen, moisture, hydrocarbons and other active impurities directly from the source cylinder.

Objectives and Article Overview

This document introduces the principles and benefits of BIP® (Built-In Purifier) technology for ultra-high purity gas delivery. It outlines the technology’s design, compares impurity performance against conventional cylinders, and highlights case studies demonstrating process improvements and cost savings in gas chromatography and other laboratory applications.

Methodology and Instrumentation

BIP® technology incorporates a robust, pressure-driven purifier module inside each cylinder. Key features include:

• Integrated purifier bed isolated from atmospheric contamination
• High-pressure operation enabling efficient removal of O₂ (≤10 ppb), H₂O (≤20 ppb) and total hydrocarbons (<100 ppb)
• Compatibility with standard cylinder connections—no system modifications required

In practical use, BIP® cylinders serve directly as the gas source for analytical systems (e.g., GC-FID, GC-ECD), eliminating the need for external in-line purification.

Main Results and Discussion

Performance evaluations and user case studies reveal:

• Consistent impurity control throughout cylinder life, avoiding the typical rise in contaminants as pressure falls
• Up to 20 % extra usable gas per cylinder, achieved by extending safe operating pressure below the conventional switch-over limits
• Extended GC column life—from 24.5 to over 100 days in helium carrier gas—by minimizing oxidative and hydrolytic degradation
• Demonstrated cost savings of up to 70 % in fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis systems

These findings confirm that BIP® gases outperform standard 5.0-grade cylinders and negate the operational complexity associated with maintaining external purifiers.

Practical Benefits and Applications

BIP® technology offers multiple advantages for laboratories and industrial users:

• Simplified gas delivery with no additional purification hardware or maintenance
• Improved analytical consistency and detection limits for GC techniques (FID, ECD)
• Reduced downtime and waste disposal burden compared to in-line purifier cartridges
• Assured performance for sensitive processes such as isotope measurements, glove-box inerting and semiconductor manufacturing

Future Trends and Potential Uses

Ongoing development areas include:

• Extension of BIP® purification to a broader range of specialty gases and higher purity grades (e.g., 6.7–6.8)
• Integration of real-time impurity monitoring and digital cylinder tracking
• Adoption in emerging fields such as advanced materials synthesis, quantum computing and precision mass spectrometry
• Collaboration on custom gas mixtures with strict trace-impurity specifications

Conclusion

BIP® technology redefines high-purity gas delivery by embedding advanced purification within the cylinder. It ensures unparalleled impurity control, extends component lifetimes, simplifies laboratory workflows and delivers significant cost savings—all without modifying existing gas systems.

References

• Air Products. BIP® Technology Brochure. Air Products PLC.