Oxygen cleaning is a common practice for valve and fitting maintenance, especially in systems that handle very sensitive materials. This cleaning method involves removing contaminants that are used in high-oxygen environments to ensure there aren’t any substances that could react with the oxygen.
If your system’s environment is oxygen-rich, getting your fittings properly cleaned will prevent a series of hazards, ensure your equipment’s lifespan, and keep your worksite within proper standards. Keep reading to learn why you should get oxygen-cleaned fittings from Hy-Lok for your hydraulic system!
Reduced Fire Risk
A high-oxygen environment contains over 23.5% of oxygen, which is considered the risk level for fire or ignition. Oxygen in its pure state is not flammable, but if it’s mixed with the wrong chemicals or contaminants, it can trigger an oxidation reaction that can start a fire, burning faster, hotter, and overall more intensely than regular fires.
Impurities that can create this combustive effect include:
- Hydrocarbons like oil, grease, and solvents
- Welding slag
- Phosphates
- Nitrates
- Water-based detergents
- Dust
- Dirt
- Fibres
- Skin oils
- And other impurities
Oxygen-cleaning your fittings before installing them in your equipment will help prevent these impurities from contaminating the environment and keep the processing liquids and gases pure.
Maintains Equipment Lifespan
The risk of combustion in a high-oxygen environment can compromise the integrity of your equipment. Certain activities in your equipment can create a potential heat source, and if your fittings aren’t suitable for an oxygenated environment, impurities can enter the mix, creating a safety hazard that often leads to equipment failure.
Some activities within a system that can create a heat source include vibration, liquid compression, a hit from an object or particle, and static electricity.
Oxygen-cleaned fittings help prevent these activities from creating a combustion, allowing your equipment to operate at its intended capacity without risk of an internal fire or explosion.
Stay Within Industry Standards and Safety Requirements
Industries that operate in oxygen-rich environments, such as healthcare, chemical processing, semiconducting, and aerospace, must comply with specific standards and regulations to ensure safe operations, especially when working with sensitive materials.
Equipment like ventilators delivers oxygen directly to individuals to help them breathe, and if this essential equipment were to be contaminated, it could be detrimental to a patient’s health and safety.
Some industry standards that require oxygen cleaning for their systems include CGA 4.1, ASTM G93, and HPT-300. At Hy-Lok, we ensure that all our oxygen-cleaned fittings fall in line with the standards you require to ensure a smooth, seamless installation and run your equipment with confidence.
Get Oxygen-Cleaned Fittings from Hy-Lok Canada
Oxygen-cleaned fittings are essential to maintaining the safety of equipment in many industries, and if your worksite relies on this cleaning method for your valves and fittings, you can count on Hy-Lok.
Visit our Products page to learn more about which components we have available, and contact us to learn more about Hy-Lok’s oxygen cleaning services.