For industries requiring a continuous supply of clean nitrogen, membrane nitrogen generators offer a flexible and energy-efficient solution. Compared to traditional gas cylinders or PSA systems, membrane systems are compact, reliable, and cost-effective for a wide range of nitrogen purity demands.

In this guide, we’ll explain how membrane nitrogen generators work, their advantages, limitations, and how KEEPWIN supports their operation with high-performance nitrogen compressor solutions.

🔬 What Is a Membrane Nitrogen Generator?

A membrane nitrogen generator uses selective permeation to separate nitrogen from compressed air. When pressurized air enters the membrane module, oxygen, water vapor, and other gases diffuse through the membrane walls faster than nitrogen.

The result: high-purity nitrogen (>95–99%) exits the other end, ready for use.

📌 KEEPWIN provides complete nitrogen generation skids that integrate membrane modules with air compressors, filters, and boosters—all in a plug-and-play system.

⚙️ How Does It Work?

Step-by-step process:

1. Compressed air supply: Clean, dry air enters the system (usually from an oil-free compressor)

2. Filtration: Coalescing filters remove particulates and oil vapor

3. Membrane separation: Air passes through hollow-fiber membranes

4. Nitrogen outlet: Purified nitrogen exits at desired flow and purity

5. Waste gas venting: Permeated gases are safely discharged

➡ This makes membrane nitrogen systems ideal for moderate flow + moderate purity applications such as laser cutting, food packaging, tire inflation, and electronics.

🧰 Why Use a Membrane Nitrogen Generator?

✅ Key Advantages:

🎯 For example, a Turkish customer installed KEEPWIN’s oil-free screw compressor + 6Nm³/h membrane unit for a packaging line, saving over $5,000/year in bottled nitrogen.

🔋 The Role of a Nitrogen Compressor

To achieve outlet pressures above 10 bar (for cylinder filling or gas-assisted injection molding), the nitrogen from the membrane must be boosted using a nitrogen compressor.

KEEPWIN offers:

• Oil-free diaphragm compressors for high purity (99.999%)

• Lubricated piston boosters for general industrial-grade N₂

• Custom skid packages with buffer tanks and PLC control

🔧 Our Z-type nitrogen booster (Model ZFW-1.5/10-200) was used in Indonesia to compress 99.5% N₂ from 6 bar to 200 bar at 1.5 Nm³/min for metal processing.

📉 Efficiency Considerations

While membrane systems are simple, compressor efficiency plays a huge role in total cost of ownership.

To optimize performance:

• Use VFD oil-free screw compressors for the air supply

• Pre-dry air to prevent membrane clogging

• Choose the right membrane size based on SCFM demand

• Avoid oversizing to reduce purge loss

KEEPWIN engineers simulate the whole gas separation system using real gas flow parameters before recommending a solution.

⚠️ Limitations of Membrane Nitrogen Generators

While highly convenient, they’re not perfect for every use case:

• Purity typically limited to 95–99.5%

• Lower efficiency at very high pressures

• Not ideal for medical or ultra-high purity gas (use PSA or cryo)

However, for mid-level purity at stable flow rates, they offer low CapEx and maintenance.

Membrane nitrogen generators are the go-to choice for industries looking for flexible, compact, and low-maintenance nitrogen supply systems. Combined with an efficient nitrogen compressor, they unlock huge cost savings and operational simplicity.

At Keepwin Technology Hebei Co., Ltd., we provide end-to-end nitrogen systems, from air compression to final pressure boosting, tailored to your industry.

📩 Get a custom membrane nitrogen system quotation today.
📧 Email: keepwin@keep-win.com
🌐 Website: www.keep-win.com