Asynt report on how installation of a Liquid Nitrogen generator at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is helping the organisation improve long term cryostorage of their precious samples in an environmentally friendly manner.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is Scotland's premier independent marine science organisation generating new knowledge for the benefit of the marine environment and society since 1884. Scientists at the SAMS Institute study how the marine environment works, how and why it is changing and how we could use and treat it better. The aim of this activity is to generate information to ensure that we have healthy and productive seas and oceans that support life on Earth and continue to provide us with resources.

Previously, the SAMS Institute had relied upon tanker deliveries every two weeks of liquid nitrogen to provide them with the coolant for preparation of samples for preservation, maintaining cryopreserved samples and for their gamma irradiation detector equipment. However, based in a remote region of Scotland, deliveries involved a 6 to 7-hour tanker round trip, made unreliable due to poor weather and frequent road closures as well as being environmentally inefficient due to loss of nitrogen in transit and the fossil fuels utilised during the 200-mile round trip.

Installing an Asynt Liquid Nitrogen Generator system has enabled the SAMS Institute to efficiently generate and store liquid nitrogen on demand, 24 hours a day. By generating their own liquid nitrogen on site there are no losses or heavy environmental impact from tanker deliveries. Based upon the high capacity unit installed, the SAMS Institute confidently expects full payback of their investment in under 5 years.

The control system built in to the generator gives operators all the information necessary to ensure an efficient and consistent supply of liquid nitrogen and nitrogen gas is always available. Designed to ensure high operational safety, the Asynt Liquid Nitrogen Generator operates automatically and provides information on nitrogen flow, trend graphs, service alarms and records. Operating off a single-phase electrical supply - these generators are available as mobile units that can be easily moved between locations or as static units. Asynt will work with customers to help them determine the correct size of generator to optimally suit their needs.

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