Shipboard Gaseous Nitrogen Generator Design and Development

Current shipboard cryogenic gas separation plants exhibit low reliability and availability, and require extensive operator attention. As a result, the Naval Sea System Command (NavSea) investigated alternate processes for shipboard production of nitrogen gas. The process chosen was pressure swing adsorption (PSA). The subsequent PSA investigations included: verification of the process with laboratory model testing, fabrication of a full scale prototype, and technical and operational evaluation.

NavSea together with David Taylor Research Center (DTRC) and Westinghouse Machinery Technology Division (MTD) designed, fabricated, and tested a full scale prototype Gaseous Nitrogen Generator (GNG) based on PSA technology. This design will become the Navy standard for shipboard nitrogen generation.

The GNG successfully passed Mil‐Std‐901 shock, Mil‐Std‐167 vibration, and 1000 hour technical evaluation (TechEval) and completed 1620 hours of shipboard evaluation aboard an aircraft carrier through November 1991. A review of the background which led to the GNG development and design along with details of the prototype development and testing are presented.