Volume of Compressed Gas in a Cylinder

To find the volume of gas available from a compressed gas cylinder, we apply the Ideal Gas Law (PV =
nT!" In a high#pressure cylinder, the volume will be affected by the content$s compressibility factor %
(PV = %nT!" &or e'ample, an (L cylinder of pure helium may contain )*+ cu" ft" of gas while the same
cylinder of pure air may contain )++ cu" ft" under the same conditions" &or these practical calculations,
however, we assume ideal gas behavior for simplicity"
The Ideal Gas Law PV = nT
,here-
P is pressure
V is volume
n is the number of moles
is the gas constant
T is the absolute temperature
,hen the temperature is .ept constant, we can derive the e/uation-
P()! ' V()! = P(0! ' V(0!
,here-
P()! is the pressure of the compressed gas in the cylinder (psi!
V()! is the internal volume of the cylinder, often referred to as water volume (liter!1
P(0! is the atmospheric pressure () atm # )+"2 psi!
V(0! is the volume of gas at pressure P (0! (liter!
&or e'ample, an (L si3ed cylinder is filled with nitrogen at 0444 psi" ,hat is the gas volume of nitrogen
from the cylinder5
P()! is 0444 psi
V()! is the internal volume of (L cylinder 06"7 liter1
P(0! is )+"2 psi
V(0! is the un.nown volume of gas
8olving the e/uation above for V(0! gives-
V(0! = 9p()! ' V()!:;P(0! = (0444 psi ' 06"7 liters!;)+"2 psi = +4)* liters
(appro'imately )+4 cu" ft"!
1The water volume of the high#pressure cylinders can be found on this
Conversion of PPM (mole basis) to Grams per Liter
for Gas Mixtures
<'ample = Given a )44 ppm (mole basis! gas mi'ture of >ompound ( in nitrogen, how
much of >ompound ( will be contained in a ) liter volume5
?ey (ssumptions-
)" Temperature of sample is assumed to be at 0)")@> (24@&!"
0" Pressure of sample is assumed to be ) atm Aust before inAection" (t around atmospheric
pressure, gases behave in close to ideal manner"
>alculation-
Bsing the Ideal Gas Law (PV = nT! for a temperature of 06+")@? (0)")@>!, a pressure of ) atm, and
the gas constant of 4"4C0) liter ' atm;mole ' degree ?, we find that ) mole of ideal gas occupies
0+")7 liters"
Dne liter of gas will then contain ();0+")7 ! moles" 8ince the concentration of >ompound ( is )44 ppm,
the total number of moles of >ompound ( in ) liter is-
(total E moles per liter! ' (concentration of >ompound (!"

The concentration of )44 ppm (parts per million! is unit#less, and e/uals )44 mole#parts per ),444,444
total moles = 4"444)44 in decimal formF thus the amount of moles of >ompound ( in one liter of mi'ture
is-
();0+")7! moles per liter ' 4"444)44 =
4"44444+ moles of >ompound ( per liter

In order to find the weight of >ompound (, we need to .now its molecular weight" &or e'ample, if
>ompound ( is hydrogen sulfide, with a molecular weight of *+"4C gram;mole, we obtain the following
concentration-
4"44444+ moles per liter ' *+"4C gram per mole =
4"444)+4 gram per liter or 4")+4 milligram per liter
General &ormula for >onversion of ppm (mole! to grams per liter for Gas Gi'tures
(for temperature 0)")@> (24@&! and pressure ) atm!

>onversion of grams per liter to ppm (mole basis! for Gas Gi'ture-
(for temperature 0)")@> (24@&! and pressure ) atm!


The concentration e'pressed in decimal form is unit#less" To find the concentration of >ompound ( in
ppm, multiply the answer from e/uation above with ),444,444" &or e'ample, a concentration of
>ompound ( of 4"444)44 (decimal form from e/uation above! would be )44 ppm, while a concentration
of 4"4)4444 would be )4,444 ppm or )H"