On-Site Nitrogen Gas Generators
PSA Nitrogen Gas Generators
PSA and membrane nitrogen generation systems for industrial, food, electronics, laser, heat treating, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and laboratory applications. USA-built, sized to your exact flow, purity, and pressure. United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Domestic manufacturing, ASME tanks standard
Purity range across PSA and membrane
Typical payback vs delivered gas
Service life with matched air treatment
Master Industry Hub
On-site nitrogen for every major industrial process
Gas Generation Solutions designs and supplies on-site nitrogen gas generators, also called N2 generators, for industrial customers across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. For plants that currently buy from nitrogen suppliers, an on-site system removes the deliveries, rental, and recurring price increases. We supply both PSA and membrane systems and build complete packages with feed-air compressors, high-pressure boosters, and buffer tanks. Incorporated in 1979, we have over 40 years of industry experience and have deployed thousands of systems. Our average customer recovers the full investment in 12 to 14 months and runs the system for 20 years or more.
On-site generation produces nitrogen from ambient air at up to 90% lower cost than delivered gas. There are no long-term gas contracts, no delivery fees, and no price escalators. Systems are sized to your exact flow, purity, and pressure requirements, with nitrogen purity available from 95% up to 99.9995%. All systems are USA-built.
This page lists the primary industries and applications we serve. For a full technical overview of how a nitrogen generator works, see /nitrogen-generator/. For heavy-duty and containerized builds, see /industrial-nitrogen-gas-generator/. For liquid nitrogen systems, see /liquid-nitrogen-generators/.
Two technologies, one complete package
How our nitrogen gas generators work
PSA
Pressure Swing Adsorption
PSA nitrogen generators use twin carbon molecular sieve beds that cycle between adsorption and regeneration, pulling oxygen out of compressed air to produce nitrogen at purities from 95% up to 99.9995%.
PSA is the right choice when the application needs higher residual oxygen control, such as heat treating, metal 3D printing, reflow soldering, or food packaging with low O2 targets. Read the PSA technology page.
Membrane
Hollow-Fiber Membrane
Membrane nitrogen generators use hollow-fiber polymer membranes to separate oxygen and nitrogen by permeation. Membrane systems are compact, have no moving parts in the separation stage, and deliver nitrogen at purities typically from 95% up to 99.5%.
Membrane is a strong fit for tire inflation, fire suppression, pipeline purge, laser cutting at lower purity, and general inert blanketing. Read the membrane technology page.
Every package we build includes right-sized air compression, air treatment (dryers and filters), nitrogen storage, and controls. We quote the complete system so there are no hidden add-ons after purchase.
Purity Tiers
Match the purity to the application
Every system we supply is sized to the purity your process actually needs. Higher purity costs more to produce, so over-spec adds operating cost without process benefit. The four tiers below cover the majority of industrial applications.
95% to 99%
5% to 1% O2
Membrane or PSA
Tire, fire, blanketing
Tire inflation, fire suppression, pipeline purge, general blanketing, low-spec laser cutting.
99% to 99.5%
1% to 5,000 ppm O2
PSA
Food grade baseline
Food grade nitrogen baseline, MAP and gas flushing, wave soldering, plastic injection molding.
99.9%
1,000 ppm O2
PSA
High-spec food, autoclaves
Cheese, snack, wine, coffee, salad packaging at extended shelf life. Autoclaves. Aluminum extrusion.
99.99% to 99.9995%
100 to 5 ppm O2
PSA
Heat treat, electronics, semi
Heat treating and bright annealing, reflow and selective soldering, metal 3D printing, semiconductor process gas, pharmaceutical and laboratory.
Capability
What our PSA nitrogen generators cover
Every system we supply is built to order around your flow, purity, pressure and duty cycle, so there is no fixed catalogue to pick from. The bands below show the ground we actually cover, drawn from the systems we quote. Find your flow, check the purity, and you will know whether on-site generation fits before you talk to anyone. The range runs from a 10 SCFH laboratory system through paralleled PSA plants and on into cryogenic air separation, so a large project does not have to start over somewhere else.
10 to 75,000 SCFH
Nitrogen flow, per system
95% to 99.9995%
Available purity
Up to 3 levels
Purity settings from one machine
Flow bands and the purity each one runs at
| Nitrogen flow | Purity specified in this band | Most common purity | Technology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 300 SCFH | 98% to 99.999% | 99.99% | PSA |
| 300 to 1,500 SCFH | 95% to 99.999% | 99.9% | PSA |
| 1,500 to 6,000 SCFH | 97% to 99.999% | 99.9% | PSA |
| 6,000 to 20,000 SCFH | 99% to 99.995% | 99.9% | PSA |
| 20,000 to 200,000 SCFH | 95% to 99.995% | Specified per project | PSA, units paralleled |
| Above 200,000 SCFH | 99.99% and higher | Specified per project | Cryogenic air separation |
PSA is the right technology across the range above, and it is what most on-site nitrogen jobs call for. Past roughly 200,000 SCFH the economics move to cryogenic air separation, which separates nitrogen by liquefying and distilling air rather than by adsorption. We supply at that scale as well, so a plant-scale project and a single production line are both answered here.
Food and beverage applications cap at 99.9%, which is the food-grade nitrogen baseline. Higher purity costs more to produce, so specifying above what the process needs adds operating cost without process benefit. Every system we quote includes right-sized air compression, air treatment, nitrogen storage and controls, and the compressed air figure for your system comes with the quote. If you want to understand that side first, see compressed air requirements for a nitrogen generator.
Footprint
16" L x 20" W x 84" H
A published generator footprint at the compact end of the line. The generator itself has a small floor plan because it stands tall rather than wide, which is why it fits alongside existing plant equipment.
40" L x 44" W x 101" H
A published footprint further up the line. Air compression, dryer, filtration and nitrogen storage are separate items and are laid out to suit the room, so plan the full system rather than the generator alone.
Specs and Pricing
Sized to the job, priced to the job
Every system is built to order around your flow, purity, pressure, and duty cycle. The figures below are the published industry-wide averages we hold to. Specific quote ranges live on the dedicated pricing pages.
95% to 99.9995%
Available purity range
12 to 14 mo
Typical payback vs delivered gas
Up to 90%
Operating cost reduction vs delivered
20 years+
Service life with matched air treatment
Frequently Asked Questions
Nitrogen gas generators
How does a nitrogen gas generator work?
A nitrogen gas generator separates nitrogen from the other gases in compressed air. PSA generators use carbon molecular sieves to adsorb oxygen, and membrane generators use hollow-fiber polymers to permeate oxygen out of the air stream. The nitrogen that remains is stored in a buffer tank and delivered on demand at the purity, flow, and pressure your application needs.
What nitrogen purity can an on-site nitrogen gas generator deliver?
Our nitrogen gas generators deliver purity from 95% up to 99.9995%. Membrane systems typically cover 95% up to 99.5%. PSA systems cover the full range and are the right choice for applications that need residual oxygen below 1,000 ppm, such as heat treating, metal additive manufacturing, reflow soldering, and high-spec food packaging.
How much can a nitrogen gas generator save versus delivered gas?
Most customers cut their nitrogen operating cost by up to 90% when they switch from delivered bulk or cylinder gas to on-site generation. Savings begin immediately when the generator starts and delivered gas stops. The exact percentage depends on current gas spend, local delivery costs, and purity requirements.
What is the payback period on a nitrogen gas generator?
Typical payback is 12 to 14 months. Higher-volume and higher-purity applications can pay back sooner because the gap between delivered-gas cost and generated-gas cost is wider. We provide an ROI calculation against your current gas spend as part of every quote.
How long do nitrogen gas generators last?
Our nitrogen gas generators are built to run for 20 years or more. Carbon molecular sieve and membrane modules are long-life components when the feed air is properly dried and filtered, which is why every system we supply includes matched air treatment.
Should I choose a PSA or a membrane nitrogen gas generator?
Choose PSA when the application requires nitrogen purity higher than 99.5% or residual oxygen below 5,000 ppm. Choose membrane for compact installations at purities of 95% to 99.5%, for tire inflation, fire suppression, laser cutting at lower purity, and general blanketing. We will recommend the right technology after reviewing your flow, purity, and duty cycle.
Does Gas Generation Solutions size the full system?
Yes. Every quote includes the generator, an appropriately sized air compressor, air treatment (dryer and filters), nitrogen storage, and controls. Sizing the full package prevents the undersized-compressor and under-dried-air problems that shorten sieve and membrane life.
What industries use on-site nitrogen gas generators?
Aerospace, pharmaceutical and biotech, food and beverage, electronics manufacturing, laser cutting, metal 3D printing, heat treating, semiconductor fabs, wineries, cannabis, research laboratories, mining, and industrial manufacturing. The list above on this page links to a detailed page for each application.
Budgeting a system
Every nitrogen generator we build is priced by flow, purity, and pressure. Pricing by tier from $15K small-tier to over $500K large-tier.
Next Step
Measure first, or jump straight to a quote
Most customers measure actual nitrogen flow with our free flowmeter rental, then we size the generator to match. Not sure where to start? Build your own nitrogen generator walks you through the five specs we size from. If you already have measured flow or know your purity and pressure targets, request a quote directly.
Or call 760-505-1300 to talk to a sizing engineer.