Claims
- 1. A gas storage and dispensing system including a gas storage and dispensing vessel having an enclosed interior volume joined to gas dispensing means, wherein said interior volume contains a physical adsorbent and a gas in the interior volume and at least partially adsorbed on the physical adsorbent, wherein the gas pressure in said interior volume is at superatmospheric pressure, and wherein said gas pressure is lower than gas pressure of a same gas in a corresponding sorbent-free vessel and/or the amount of gas in said interior volume of the vessel is higher than the amount of the same gas in a corresponding sorbent-free vessel.
- 2. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the superatmospheric pressure is above 10 psig.
- 3. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the superatmospheric pressure is above 50 psig.
- 4. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the superatmospheric pressure is in a range of from about 10 psig to about 1500 psig.
- 5. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the superatmospheric pressure is in a range of from about 20 psig to about 1000 psig.
- 6. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the superatmospheric pressure is in a range of from about 50 psig to about 500 psig.
- 7. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the superatmospheric pressure is in a range of from about 50 psig to about 200 psig.
- 8. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the superatmospheric pressure is in a range of from about 50 psig to about 100 psig.
- 9. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the superatmospheric pressure is lower than pressure of a same gas in a corresponding sorbent-free vessel having a same gas delivery capacity.
- 10. The gas storage and delivery system of claim 1, wherein the amount of gas in the interior volume of the vessel is greater than the amount in a corresponding sorbent-free vessel at a same gas pressure.
- 11. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the gas pressure is lower than pressure in said corresponding sorbent-free vessel and the amount of gas in said vessel is greater than the amount of a same gas in a corresponding sorbent-free vessel.
- 12. The gas storage and delivery system of claim 1, wherein the physical adsorbent contains less than 350 parts per million by weight of trace components selected from the group consisting of water and oxidic transition metal species, based on the weight of the physical adsorbent.
- 13. The gas storage and delivery system of claim 1, wherein the physical adsorbent contains less than 100 parts per million by weight of trace components selected from the group consisting of water and oxidic transition metal species, based on the weight of the physical adsorbent.
- 14. The gas storage and delivery system of claim 1, wherein the physical adsorbent contains no more than 1 part per million by weight of trace components selected from the group consisting of water and oxidic transition metal species, based on the weight of the physical adsorbent.
- 15. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the physical adsorbent is devoid of trace components selected from the group consisting of waters, metals, and oxidic transition metal species in a concentration sufficient to decompose the gas in said storage and dispensing vessel.
- 16. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the physical adsorbent concentration of trace components selected from the group consisting of water and oxidic transition metal species, based on the weight of the physical adsorbent, is insufficient to decompose more than 5% by weight of the gas after one year at 25° C. and gas pressure in said interior volume.
- 17. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 16, wherein the oxidic transition metal species are selected from the group consisting of oxides, sulfites and nitrates.
- 18. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the gas comprises a hydride gas.
- 19. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the gas comprises a gas species selected from the group consisting of silane, diborane, arsine, phosphine, chlorine, BCl3, BF3, B2D6, tungsten hexafluoride, (CH3)3Sb, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen iodide, hydrogen bromide, germane, ammonia, stibine, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen selenide, hydrogen telluride, and NF3.
- 20. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the gas comprises boron trifluoride.
- 21. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the gas comprises silane.
- 22. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the gas comprises arsine.
- 23. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the gas comprises phosphine.
- 24. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein a gas flow regulator is associated with the vessel and a gas flow controller, such that gas dispensed from the vessel in dispensing operation thereof flows through said gas flow regulator prior to flow through said gas flow controller.
- 25. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 24, wherein the gas flow controller comprises a gas flow control valve.
- 26. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 24, wherein the gas flow regulator is at least partially disposed in the interior volume of the vessel.
- 27. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 24, wherein the gas flow regulator is wholly disposed in the interior volume of the vessel.
- 28. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 24, wherein the gas flow regulator is disposed in a valve head assembly coupled to said vessel.
- 29. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the physical adsorbent is selected from the group consisted of carbon, silica, molecular sieves, alumina, macroreticulate polymers, kieselguhr and aluminosilicates.
- 30. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the physical adsorbent comprises carbon.
- 31. The gas storage and dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the physical adsorbent comprises a zeolite adsorbent.
- 32. A method of increasing capacity of a high pressure gas cylinder for containing gas at a predetermined pressure level and/or decreasing the pressure of gas in said cylinder while maintaining at least as large an inventory of gas therein, said method comprising disposing in the interior volume of said vessel a physical adsorbent having sufficient sorptive affinity and capacity for said gas, so that the cylinder containing said physical adsorbent holds more gas at a corresponding pressure or has a gas pressure below said predetermined pressure level at a same gas inventory amount.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/564,323 filed May 3, 2000 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/082,596 filed May 21, 1998, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/809,019 filed Apr. 11, 1997 filed under 35 USC 371 and issued Aug. 10, 1999 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,305, based on international application PCT/US95/13040 filed Oct. 13, 1995, claiming the priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/322,224 filed Oct. 13, 1994 and issued May 21, 1996 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,528. This is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/624,478 filed Jul. 24, 2000, now allowed. This is further a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/874,084 filed Jun. 5, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/624,478 filed Jul. 24, 2000.
Continuation in Parts (6)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09564323 |
May 2000 |
US |
Child |
10147145 |
May 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09082596 |
May 1998 |
US |
Child |
09564323 |
May 2000 |
US |
Parent |
08809019 |
Mar 1998 |
US |
Child |
09082596 |
May 1998 |
US |
Parent |
09624478 |
Jul 2000 |
US |
Child |
10147145 |
May 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09874084 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
Child |
10147145 |
May 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09624478 |
Jul 2000 |
US |
Child |
09874084 |
Jun 2001 |
US |