Compressed Air & Gas Filters

Oxygen Filter

Particle-free oxygen at every valve and regulator seat, from a filter that adds no fuel to your system.

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An oxygen filter housing with a blue head and a manual drain valve below its bowl

Product overview

Clean oxygen, without adding an ignition source

In pressurised oxygen, particles are a primary ignition source. Weld slag, pipe scale, thread swarf and valve wear debris travel with the gas, and where it speeds up, at valve seats, regulator orifices and pipe bends, a particle striking a surface can ignite, then ignite the material it hits. Our oxygen filter captures that debris upstream of those points.

The filter itself is built for oxygen service. Every wetted material is selected for resistance to ignition and combustion at the rated pressure, every surface is cleaned of hydrocarbons and particles, and any lubricant used is oxygen-compatible, so the filter never becomes the fuel.

It serves your oxygen from hospital pipelines at 4 bar g through to cylinder filling at 300 bar, whether it comes from liquid oxygen vaporisers, PSA generators or oxygen-enriched air, and it removes particles only, so the oxygen concentration at the outlet matches the inlet.

An oxygen filter with its mounting brackets, fittings and a perforated metal element laid out beside it
  • 4 bar g to 300 barFrom hospital pipelines to cylinder filling
  • About 950 ×Oxygen partial pressure at 200 bar, against air
  • ASTM G93Cleanliness for oxygen service
  • 12 monthsLongest interval between element changes

Benefits

The problems it solves

In an oxygen system the oxidiser is always present and the fuel is the system itself. Here is where particles turn that into a risk, and how the filter stops them.

  • Ignition at the seat

    The problem

    Particles carried by the gas strike regulator seats, valve orifices and pipe bends at speed, where the impact can ignite the particle and the metal it hits.

    How it solves it

    The filter holds that debris back upstream of your throttling points, removing one of the ignition mechanisms listed in ASTM G88.

  • A filter that adds fuel

    The problem

    Metals, polymers and trace oils that are inert in compressed air can burn in pressurised oxygen, and hydrocarbon grease is a fuel.

    How it solves it

    Materials, cleaning and lubricants suit oxygen at the rated pressure, so the filter adds no fuel to your system.

  • Creeping outlet pressure

    The problem

    A particle trapped on a regulator seat stops it closing fully, so equipment rated for 4–10 bar can see far higher pressure from a cylinder or booster.

    How it solves it

    Clean regulator seats close fully, keeping your regulated pressure stable and your downstream equipment within its rating.

  • Dust from generators and boosters

    The problem

    Zeolite beads in PSA oxygen generators abrade as the beds cycle, and booster compressors shed debris from piston rings, rider bands and valves.

    How it solves it

    A filter at the generator outlet and a high-pressure filter after the booster keep that dust out of your receiver, valves, manifolds and cylinders.

  • Recontaminated pipelines

    The problem

    A pipeline cleaned for oxygen service stays clean only while no debris enters it, and every cylinder change disturbs rust in valves and pigtails.

    How it solves it

    The filter stops debris from cylinder changes, switchovers and maintenance, so your cleaned system stays clean.

  • Stopping supply for a change

    The problem

    Hospital wards and continuous processes cannot lose their oxygen while an element is changed.

    How it solves it

    Duplex filters with changeover valves let you change an element without stopping supply or sending unfiltered oxygen downstream.

Where it’s used

Wherever oxygen is piped, stored or filled

From a hospital pipeline at 4 bar g to a filling plant at 300 bar, the filter sits ahead of the first valve or regulator that needs protecting.

  • A bright intensive care room with a bed beside a service column carrying a monitor and wall outlets

    Hospitals and healthcare

    Liquid oxygen vaporisers, cylinder manifolds and PSA oxygen plants supplying your wards and theatres.

  • Molten metal pouring from a ladle in a foundry

    Steel and non-ferrous metals

    Oxygen lances in basic oxygen furnaces, oxy-fuel burners in electric arc furnaces, and oxygen enrichment for copper, nickel and lead smelting.

  • Glowing glass bottles being formed on a production machine

    Glass

    Oxy-fuel furnaces and burners for container glass, fibreglass and speciality glass.

  • A cutting torch slicing through steel sections in a shower of sparks

    Welding and laser cutting

    Oxy-fuel torches and workshop manifolds, and oxygen assist gas for laser cutting mild steel.

  • A regulator and gauge fitted to an oxygen cylinder

    Cylinder filling

    Oxygen booster compressors and filling plants, including home, ambulance and rescue cylinders, where frequent valve connections bring in debris.

  • Aerial view of aeration basins at a water treatment works

    Water and wastewater

    Oxygen for activated sludge aeration and for ozone generators used in disinfection and oxidation.

Also aquaculture, pulp and paper, chemicals and petrochemicals, aerospace and aviation, diving, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and laboratories.

How it works

Slow in, outside in, clean out

Oxygen spreads around the element, crosses it from the outside to the core, and leaves without the particles that could ignite at your regulator seat.

How an oxygen filter works: oxygen enters the housing through a slow-opening valve, spreads around the element and passes through it from the outside to the core, leaving particles on the upstream face, then rises out through the core to the pressure regulator it protects. A differential pressure gauge shows element loading, and a bleed valve vents the housing to a safe outdoor location before service. Oxygen inSlow-openingvalveCylindermanifold4 bar g to 300 bar Oxygen filter Particles held onthe upstream faceSintered metal ordepth medium Clean coreto the outletPressure regulatorFiltered oxygen outComposition unchanged Differentialpressure gauge Bleed valveVent to a safeoutdoor location 12345Oxygen, as suppliedFiltered oxygenParticles: slag, scale, debris

  1. 1. EntryOxygen enters the housing and slows as it spreads around the element. A slow-opening isolation valve ahead of the filter limits the rate of pressure rise, and so limits compression heating inside the housing.

  2. 2. FiltrationThe gas passes from the outside of the element to its core. Particles stay on and within the medium on the upstream side, held by sieving, interception, inertial impaction and diffusion, and the layer they build captures finer particles still.

  3. 3. ExitFiltered oxygen leaves through the core at the same composition it entered, less the particles, and reaches your regulator seat, the first high-velocity point in the system, clean.

  4. 4. LoadingCollected particles raise flow resistance, and the differential pressure indicator shows when the element reaches its replacement limit. A sudden rise signals an upstream event; a fall below the clean value suggests a damaged element or leaking seal.

  5. 5. Venting before serviceBefore the element is changed, the bleed valve relieves housing pressure to a safe outdoor location, so the housing is never opened under pressure.

Get the full details

Our brochure covers it in detail, and our questionnaire tells us what we need to recommend the right one for your plant.

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