06-22-2011, 12:36 PM
I inquired with a chemist friend of mine for you, and his quick reply was:
"Bubble the gas through something oxygen sensitive, which is why you have nitrogen lines in the first place.
Put a piece of freshly cut sodium in the gas to see if it oxidizes or not. You could measure its IR spectrum.
"I'm sure there are other possibilities."
I will add here, that there are nitrogen test kits available - such as the N/P Test Kit - but that should be
done by someone who's done it before. If your canister passes O2 in the mix - this will likely react with
the phosphorus and cause some excitement in your burette and your undies if you are doing the test.
"Bubble the gas through something oxygen sensitive, which is why you have nitrogen lines in the first place.
Put a piece of freshly cut sodium in the gas to see if it oxidizes or not. You could measure its IR spectrum.
"I'm sure there are other possibilities."
I will add here, that there are nitrogen test kits available - such as the N/P Test Kit - but that should be
done by someone who's done it before. If your canister passes O2 in the mix - this will likely react with
the phosphorus and cause some excitement in your burette and your undies if you are doing the test.