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Monitoring Atmospheric CO2 Using Standard Gases

	There is a multitude of different ways for corporations to contribute to the struggle against global warming. Sumitomo Seika Chemicals Co., Ltd. for example, does so by manufacturing quality standard gases. Standard gases are used as standards when measuring the concentrations or other properties of gases. Using standard gases to calibrate measurement instruments makes it possible to achieve consistent and accuracy measurements regardless of the type of equipment used. However, this demands accuracy in the manufacturing of the standard gases themselves. Japan’s traceability system under the Weight and Measure Act (accredited by the Japan Calibration Service System) requires that standard gases used to calibrate measuring instruments be certified by an approved manufacturer. Currently, Sumitomo Seika Chemicals is one of only three companies in Japan so approved. A global standard that has emerged recently for measuring gas concentrations involves the weight of gas in a special cylinder, then using the standard gas in a gravimetric blending method. This method was first innovated by Sumitomo Seika Chemicals. Sumitomo Seika Chemicals manufactures several thousand types of standard gases, many of which are used to measure global warming or atmospheric pollution. Of these, demand has risen recently for perfluorocompounds (PFCs) in particular. PFCs are used in cleaning and etching processes in semiconductor manufacturing, and they contribute to global warming much more than CO2 does per volume of gas. Ichiro Misawa, manager of the Standard Gas Group, Fine Gases Division at Sumitomo Seika Chemicals, states: “The semiconductor industry has always used a lot of very toxic substances. Methods were developed early on for detoxifying them, but since PFCs are hardly toxic at all, they were largely ignored. Of course, that was before greenhouse gases and global warming became such an important issue. Now every plant goes to great lengths to ensure that PFCs aren’t leaking out, which means that the demand for PFC standard gases has expanded.”	Sumitomo Seika Chemicals manufactures several thousand kinds of gas on everything from a mass-production to order-made basis. Gas cylinder line at the Chiba Works are filled with gases. Mixing gases and filling cylinders are done by hand. Order-made gases are mixed according to customer needs.
	Patented Technology for Lasting Quality
	Sumitomo Seika Chemicals is also making strides in standard gases for measuring carcinogenic Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). These gases must be manufactured, transported, and stored at concentrations of 1 ppm, so maintaining a stable concentration at such low levels has been a significant hurdle. “When you transfer gas of 1ppm into a pressurized cylinder, the gas molecules tend to react with or stick to the inner surface of the cylinder, causing the concentration to drop. With our proprietary “Enfas treatment”, though, we can guarantee stability for as long as six to twelve months after a cylinder has been charged. This patented technique allows us to offer a level of concentration stability that other companies cannot match,” says Hirokazu Kawano, manager of the Service Group at Sumitomo Seika Chemicals R&D. The company offers a wide range of environmental products for purposes as varied as indoor pollution measurements of sick-building syndrome gases to emission measurements for ensuring compliance with California’s emission laws. “Recently, we have begun offering more HAPs standard-gas products that include CFCs because scientists want to measure CFCs at the same time as other environmental pollutants. Our goal is to offer whatever products there is a demand for, and to go on anticipating new demand in our development work. That’s our contribution to the environmental effort,” says Fujio Adachi, a special gases leader in the management group at Sumitomo Seika Chemicals’ Chiba Works.