Compressed air is commonly used in laboratories and is typically piped in as a utility. One commonly sees utility pods with laboratory valves or cocks for air, hot and cold water, natural gas, lab vacuum, and occasionally steam. Compressed air may be hard-plumbed into instrumentation for valve actuation, vortex-tube chilling, and as a source of air for flame ionization detectors. Specific hazards are associated with the use of compressed air sources and lines in laboratories, and safety precautions must be observed. Some important guidelines follow.
All sources of laboratory or plant compressed air will contain water vapor, even if coalescence filters and particulate filters are provided inline. This water vapor can condense into liquid or ice, and can cause problems if the air contacts electrical or electronic devices. If the laboratory air supply is dried with a refrigerated conditioner, the dew point is still typically only dropped to 40 °F (4 °C).
In some older facilities, compressed air systems can be severely contaminated with oil (usually from the compressor), rust (from steel piping), or liquid water. In these older installations, it is very important to provide coalescence filters and particulate filters inline.