CGA G-4.1-2018: Cleaning Equipment for Oxygen Service

CGA G-4.1-2018: Cleaning Equipment for Oxygen Service has been released. It revises the 2009 edition of the same standard.

Breathe it in and then let it out. Oxygen makes up around 21 percent of the earth’s atmosphere (nitrogen makes up 78 percent). With no color or smell, the chemical element is a colorless gas that people interact with every day. Cognizant of it or not, oxygen is all around us. In fact, oxygen makes up 46 percent of the earth’s crust. Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered oxygen in the 18th century. Shortly after that, Joseph Priestly uncovered the same element. Although Scheele discovered oxygen first, Priestly published his findings first.

CGA G-4.1-2018 is a standard with informative guidelines on the cleaning methods that relate to equipment used in the production, distribution, and storage of oxygen.

As stated in CGA G-4.1-2018, oxygen is not flammable, but oxygen can accelerate combustion. That’s why it is particularly important to consider suggested safety guidelines for the cleaning of any vessels that might produce, distribute, or store both gaseous or liquid oxygen. This standard is intended to decrease fires, combustion hazards, and explosions. Any surface that encounters an oxygen concentration of higher than 23.5 percent should adhere to the cleaning standards promoted in CGA G-4.1-2018. There are many examples of equipment this could include. Some are:

• Stationary storage tanks
• Rail cars
• Road tankers
• Heat exchangers
• Distillation columns
• Compressors and pumps as well its associated piping, valves, and instrumentation

However, the information in CGA G-4.1-2018 is not limited to just those pieces of equipment.

In the standard, chapters provide information on planning guidelines, precleaning, cleaning, rinsing and drying, inspection, contamination level, packaging and maintaining cleanliness, labelling, quality assurance, personal safety, and training. CGA G-4.1-2018 also provides guidance on examples of contaminants that should be cleaned and removed before oxygen can be presented into the equipment.

CGA G-4.1-2018 is intended as an international harmonized standard. While CGA G.4.1-2018 was published by the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), it was jointly produced and intended for use by members of the Asia Industrial Gases Association (AIGA), Compressed Gas Association (CGA), European Industrial Gas Association (EIGA), and Japan Industrial and Medical Gasses Association (JIMGA)

CGA G-4.1-2018: Cleaning Equipment for Oxygen Service is available on the ANSI Webstore.