The Copper Alloy Bed (Cu Bed) is a fully integrated device designed to recombine hydrogen with oxygen over a catalytic alloy at high efficiency in a safe and controlled manner or to remove trace oxygen from an inert stream.

            When the alloy is oxidized, the bed will convert small amounts of hydrogen in an inert gas stream to water vapor without the need for an oxygen feed.  When coupled with a drier bed the water vapor can be trapped and removed from the inert gas stream.

            When the alloy is reduced, the bed will extract the oxygen from an inert gas purge stream to sub-ppm concentrations. This guard bed is ideal to protect oxygen sensitive equipment from passivation or damage through oxidation.

            The efficient operation at low temperatures reduces the heat load and any attendant cooling requirements in enclosed spaces.

Design Benefits

            The copper alloy bed is designed for robustness.  The alloy is able to withstand oxygen or hydrogen concentration spikes in the stream without damage.  The stainless steel welded vessel, rugged band heater, sheathed thermocouples, insulation and protective stainless-steel jacket ensure a clean small package that can operate continuously up to 150^oC without damage.

            The copper alloy bed comes standard with metal bellows isolation hand valves fitted with copper stem tips and VCR-8 female nuts.  The unit is helium leak tight to 1×10^-9 scc/sec at the operating temperature which makes it suitable for tritium service.