Krypton - Specialty Gases
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KRYPTON
Products and applications of Krypton
Nested Applications
Krypton - Part 1
Krypton
Krypton gas (Kr, from Greek “kryptos” – hidden, concealed) is the fourth of the rare gases, neither flammable nor toxic, and forms a coloress, odorless, monoatomic and chemically inert gas. The density of Krypton amounts to 3.506 kg/m3 at 15 °C / 1000 mbar, while the Krypton gas molar mass equals 83.8 g/mol. It is only found in the atmosphere in traces of 1.14 ppm (1.14 parts per million, roughly 1 out of one million particles) and thus constitutes only a narrow fraction of the air on Earth.
Krypton - Part 2
Industrial Manufacturing of Krypton
As Krypton gas exists almost exclusively in Earth’s atmosphere, large Air Separation Units allow to extract this scarce element from air. The liquid oxygen in the basement of the column is enriched with Krypton (as well as Xenon) during the separation of the air components via distillation due to the high Krypton density and relatively large boiling point of Krypton. The Krypton-Xenon crude mixture is extracted as well as purified afterwards. A subsequent distillation in a dedicated column allows to obtain the Krypton from the top, taking the lower Krypton boiling point of -153,4 °C (119,8 K) into account.
Purchase Krypton Gas
High Purity Krypton
KRYPTON 4.0 / 5.0
| Composition | ||
| Kr | ≥ 99.99 % | ≥ 99.999 % |
| Impurities | ||
| Xe | ≤ 50 ppmv | ≤ 2 ppmv |
| Ar | ≤ 10 ppmv | - |
| O2 | ≤ 2 ppmv | - |
| N2 | ≤ 20 ppmv | ≤ 2 ppmv |
| H2O | ≤ 5 ppmv | ≤ 2 ppmv |
| HC (as CH4) | ≤ 1 ppmv | ≤ 0.5 ppmv |
| O2 + Ar | - | ≤ 1.5 ppmv |
| CO + CO2 | - | ≤ 1 ppmv |
| CF4 | - | ≤ 1 ppmv |
| H2 | - | ≤ 0.5 ppmv |
Krypton - Part 3
Applications of Krypton
As a major application, Krypton gas is sealed between two panes to manufacture dual pane Krypton filled windows. Such Krypton gas windows exhibit excellent insulating properties due to Krypton’s low heat conductivity while maintaining compact window design. Likewise, specific etching processes in the electronics industry as well as Krypton ion thruster for satellites in the space industry run high purity Krypton as an etchant or propellant, respectively. Although in both cases the performance efficiency is reduced due to the lower molar mass of Krypton gas, it represents a cost-efficient alternative compared to Xenon. Additionally, a Krypton laser (more precisely: a Krypton Fluoride Laser) consumes gas mixtures containing small fractions of Krypton.
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Insulating Windows
Krypton is the optimal filling gas for dual pane windows, balancing efficiency and cost.
Satellite propulsion
Krypton is an efficient propellant for maneuvering satellites in space via ion engines.
Electronic Specialty Gases
Xenon is essential for the electronics industry, either as mixture component for the operation of Excimer Lasers or in specific etching processes.
University & Research
Krypton finds numerous applications in Universities and Research facilities due to its veratile properties.