Argon Purification Reference and Recommendation

This engineering note is a reference for future consideration on the purification of argon. The original concern was for the possibility of argon contamination from components in the cryostats over long-term storage. An argon purification system could also be useful for purifying the contents of the argon dewar. The general conclusion is that most of the systems researched are too expensive at this time, but the recommended choice would be Centorr Furnaces. There were three basic types of purification systems which were to be considered. The first was the molecular sieve. This method would have been the preferred one, because it was claimed that it could purify liquid argon, removing liquid oxygen from the argon. However, none of the commercial companies researched provided this type of purification for use with liquid argon. Most companies said that this type of purification was impossible, and tests at IB-4 confirmed this. The second system contained a copper oxide to remove gaseous oxygen from argon gas. The disadvantage of this system wass that the argon had to be heated to a gas, and then cooled back down to liquid. The third system was similar to the second, except that it used tungsten or another material like titanium. This system also needed to heat the argon to gas, however the advantage of this system was that it supposedly removed all contaminants, that is, everything except for inert gases. Of the three systems, the third is the type manufactured by Centorr Furnaces, which uses a titanium charge