TWI409216B - Processing method and refining method of inert gas and gas processing cylinder - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a processing method and a refining method for an inactive gas, as well as a gas processing drum. The invention can eliminate the impurities from the inactive gas including hydro-impurities such as methane which is hard to be eliminated with high effect and high eliminating capability. The inactive gas including hydro-impurities is contacted with a processing agent including metallic nickel and/or nickel oxide under the condition of heating so as to eliminate the hydro-impurities from the inactive gas. Besides, the inactive gas is contacted with a gas-absorption material or an adsorbent so as to eliminate impure gases (hydrogen, CO2 and water) which are produced when the inactive gas is contacted with the processing agent and which are easy to be eliminated. Besides, the gas processing drum is filled in such a way of separating the processing agent including metallic nickel and/or nickel oxide with the gas-absorption material through gaps or idle filling materials.

Description

Inert gas treatment method and purification method, and gas treatment cylinder

The present invention relates to an inert gas treatment method and a purification method, and a gas treatment cylinder, and more particularly to an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon impurity which is difficult to remove under heating conditions and a treatment agent containing nickel and/or nickel oxide. Contact method, high-efficiency and easy removal method for difficult to remove hydrocarbons, and purification method for further removing impurities which are easily removed by the above treatment and contacting with a getter material or an adsorbent, and capable of efficiently performing these methods Gas treatment cartridge.

In the semiconductor industry, rare gases such as helium, neon, argon, and helium are frequently used, and these gases are required to have extremely high purity. These gases are rare gases containing only traces of air, and there are no other effective preparation methods other than extraction from air. For example, argon gas and helium gas can be obtained by fractional distillation of liquid air. However, trace amounts of methane are present in the air. Since methane has a boiling point of -164 ° C, if methane is removed from argon (boiling point: -186 ° C) or helium (boiling point: -153 ° C) to a very low concentration by fractional distillation, It is necessary to repeat the rectification separation several times, which is expensive, otherwise it is difficult.

Further, as a method for removing methane from the rare gas prepared as described above, there is a method in which a rare gas is contacted with a gettering material such as zirconium or titanium under heating, and is captured and removed, and oxygen is added to the rare gas to burn methane. A method in which carbon dioxide and water are converted into carbon dioxide and water by contact with a synthetic zeolite at a normal temperature.

Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 7-270067 discloses that the components are separated by boiling point difference after cooling and liquefying the air. The removal of nitrogen and methane contained in an argon gas stream at an extremely low temperature is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 10-114508. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-170018 discloses that methane-containing hydrogen gas is brought into contact with a gettering material containing zirconium as a main component at a high temperature to remove methane.

However, the ability to remove methane (the amount of methane removed per unit amount of getter material) is low due to the method of bringing an inert gas such as a rare gas into contact with the getter material under heating, and the getter material is expensive. Therefore, the running cost is high and unsuitable.

In addition, in the method of adding oxygen to an inert gas such as a rare gas, it is necessary to charge an excess amount of oxygen with respect to the content of methane, and in addition to difficulty in adjusting the supply amount of oxygen, after methane is converted into carbon dioxide and water, excess must be removed together with it. Oxygen, and thus the consumption of the adsorbent or the like is large, and thus is not suitable.

Accordingly, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for treating and purifying an inert gas which removes methane (hydrocarbon) from an inert gas such as a rare gas containing methane (hydrocarbon) which is difficult to remove as described above at low cost and high efficiency. Methods and gas processing cartridges capable of efficiently implementing these methods.

In order to solve these problems, the inventors of the present invention have intensively studied and found that by heating an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon impurity such as methane with metal nickel and/or nickel oxide under heating, it is preferred to have a high specific surface area. The nickel contact can efficiently remove hydrocarbons (converted into easily removable impurities) with high efficiency, and the removal ability is also high, thereby achieving the inert gas treatment method, purification method, and gas treatment cylinder of the present invention.

That is, the present invention is a method for treating an inert gas, characterized in that an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon-containing impurity is contacted with a treatment agent containing metal nickel and/or nickel oxide under heating, and a hydrocarbon is removed from the inert gas. .

Further, the present invention is a method for purifying an inert gas, characterized in that an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon-containing impurity is brought into contact with a metal nickel-containing treating agent under heating, and then brought into contact with a gettering material.

Further, the present invention is a method for purifying an inert gas, characterized in that an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon-containing impurity is brought into contact with a treatment agent containing nickel oxide under heating, and then brought into contact with an adsorbent or a getter material.

In addition, the present invention is also a gas processing cartridge characterized in that a treatment agent containing metal nickel and/or nickel oxide is filled with a getter material by a gap or an inert filler material, and is filled with a heat treatment agent and The heater of the getter material.

The method and the method for purifying the inert gas of the present invention use metal nickel which is cheaper than the getter material and which can be expected to have excellent hydrocarbon removal ability (removal amount per unit amount of the treatment agent, hydrocarbons) Nickel oxide or a nickel catalyst containing the same is used as a raw material for treating a hydrocarbon which is difficult to remove impurities, so that the operating cost can be lowered. Further, since the device has a simple structure, the hydrocarbon removal treatment and the purification treatment can be performed efficiently.

The inert gas treatment method, the purification method, and the gas treatment cylinder of the present invention are applicable to an inert gas such as nitrogen, helium, neon, argon, neon or xenon containing at least hydrocarbon impurities such as methane, or are selected from these. A treatment method, a purification method, and a gas treatment cylinder in which at least a hydrocarbon is removed from two or more mixed gases of an inert gas. The hydrocarbon such as methane contained in the inert gas is usually 200 ppm or less. Further, the inert gas may contain impurities such as hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water together with the hydrocarbon.

The treatment method, the purification method, and the treatment agent used in the gas treatment cartridge of the present invention may contain metal nickel and/or nickel oxide, and examples thereof include a nickel catalyst, a hydroxide of nickel, a carbonate, a nitrate, and an organic solvent. A treatment agent obtained by oxidizing or reducing a raw material which is a main component of a nickel compound which is easily redoxed by an acid salt or the like. Further, as a metal component other than nickel, a small amount of a metal such as chromium, iron, cobalt or copper may be contained. These materials may be used singly or in the form of a support carried on a catalyst carrier or the like. However, from the viewpoint of improving the contact efficiency between the surface of the nickel and the gas, it is usually carried on a catalyst carrier or the like. Used in the form of carrier.

As a method of supporting nickel on a carrier, for example, a carrier powder such as diatomaceous earth, alumina, strontium aluminum, aluminum citrate or calcium citrate may be dispersed in an aqueous solution of a nickel salt, and then a base may be added to form a nickel component. Precipitating on the carrier powder, then filtering and washing with water as needed, drying the obtained filter cake at 80 to 150 ° C, baking at a temperature of 300 ° C or higher, and then pulverizing the baked product; or NiCO ₃ An inorganic salt such as Ni(OH) ₂ or Ni(NO ₃ ) ₂ , an organic salt such as NiC ₂ O ₄ or Ni(CH ₃ COO) _{2 is} baked and pulverized, and then mixed with a heat resistant cement and baked. Methods.

It is usually formed into a molded body by extrusion molding, tablet molding, or the like, and is used as it is or pulverized to an appropriate size as needed. As the molding method, a dry method or a wet method can be employed. At this time, a small amount of water, a lubricant, or the like can also be used.

In addition, as a nickel-based catalyst, for example, N-111 (Ni-diatomaceous earth) (produced by Nikko Co., Ltd.) is commercially available, and therefore it can be selected and used. In short, it is sufficient that the reduced nickel, nickel oxide, or the like is finely dispersed to increase the surface area, and the contact efficiency with the gas is high.

The BET specific surface area of the treating agent is usually from 10 to 300 m ² /g, preferably from 30 to 250 m ² /g. Further, the content ratio of the metallic nickel to the nickel oxide is usually from 5 to 95% by weight, preferably from 20 to 95% by weight, based on the total of the treating agent. When the content of nickel is less than 5% by weight, the ability to remove hydrocarbons is low, and if it is more than 95% by weight, sintering may occur upon reduction by hydrogen, and the activity may be lowered.

In carrying out the method for treating an inert gas of the present invention, a treatment agent containing metal nickel and/or nickel oxide, or a treatment material such as a nickel catalyst or a nickel compound is filled in a treatment cylinder. The filling length of these treating agents or treating agent materials filled in the processing cartridge is usually 10 to 2000 mm in practical use. When the filling length is shorter than 10 mm, there is a possibility that the removal rate of hydrocarbon impurities is lowered, and if it is longer than 2000 mm, the pressure loss may be excessively large.

When the treatment material filled in the treatment cylinder contains a nickel compound other than nickel metal or nickel oxide, it is usually subjected to reduction treatment of hydrogen, oxidation treatment by oxygen, or heating under the condition of removal of hydrocarbons. The inert gas is activated to convert it into a treating agent. In carrying out these treatments, for example, hydrogen can be introduced into the treatment tank by an idler linear velocity (LV) of about 0.1 to 200 cm/sec, preferably about 1 to 50 cm/sec, at a temperature of 350 ° C or lower. It is carried out with a mixed gas of nitrogen, a mixed gas of oxygen and nitrogen, or nitrogen.

In the present invention, the contact temperature of the treatment target gas with the treatment agent is usually 200 to 800 ° C, preferably 300 to 600 ° C. When the contact temperature is 200° C. or higher, the hydrocarbon in the gas to be treated can be efficiently converted into hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide, water, or the like, and if it is 800° C. or less, an excessive load is not applied to the processing cylinder.

The pressure at which the gas is brought into contact with the treating agent is not particularly limited, and may be any of normal pressure, reduced pressure, and pressurization, but is usually carried out under normal pressure to 1.0 MPa. The underwire speed (LV) of the gas at the time of the treatment differs depending on the concentration of the hydrocarbons in the supplied gas, the operating conditions, and the like, and cannot be specified in general, but is usually 100 cm/sec or less, preferably 30 cm/sec or less.

In the treatment method of the present invention, carbon such as methane is trapped by bringing an inert gas containing, for example, methane into contact with metallic nickel under heating, and hydrogen gas is generated to be removed from the downstream. At this time, depending on the processing conditions, generation of trace amounts of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and elimination from the downstream may occur. Further, carbon dioxide and water are generated and removed from the downstream by contacting, for example, an inert gas containing methane with nickel oxide under heating. However, the treatment method of the present invention can be suitably used, for example, as a supply method of a carrier gas for supplying a reaction system which does not adversely affect even if a small amount of hydrogen is present.

In the inert gas purification method of the present invention, the inert gas containing hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide, water or the like treated by the inert gas treatment method is further contacted with the getter material and/or the adsorbent to remove hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide, water or the like. By treating the inert gas as above, the removal ability per unit weight of the getter material can be improved, and the service life of the getter material can be prolonged. Further, in the system using the adsorbent, by treating the inert gas as above, the hydrocarbon in the inert gas can be converted into carbon dioxide and water, which can be removed by the adsorbent.

Further, the inert gas before the treatment can be easily removed even if a hydrocarbon such as methane is contained, even if it contains an impurity gas such as hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or water.

In carrying out the inert gas purification method of the present invention, the getter material may be commonly filled in the treatment cylinder as the downstream thereof together with the above metal nickel, nickel oxide, nickel catalyst or nickel compound, or may be downstream of the treatment cylinder. A refining cylinder filled with a getter material and/or an adsorbent cartridge filled with an adsorbent are provided. Further, examples of the getter material include zirconium, vanadium, iron, titanium, and the like. Further, examples of the adsorbent include zeolite, activated carbon, and the like. The gettering material and the adsorbent may also be activated by introducing an inert gas under heating or by vacuuming under heating conditions before purifying the inert gas.

In the method for purifying an inert gas of the present invention, when an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon impurity is brought into contact with metallic nickel under heating to remove hydrocarbons, since hydrogen gas is eliminated from the downstream as described above, it is preferred. To set the getter material for removing hydrogen. Further, when an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon impurity is brought into contact with nickel oxide under heating to remove hydrocarbons, since carbon dioxide and water are eliminated from the downstream, it is preferably provided for adsorption for removing carbon dioxide and water. Agent or getter material.

The filling length of the getter material filled in the refining cylinder and the filling length of the adsorbent filled in the adsorption cylinder are usually 10 to 2000 mm in practical use. Further, the contact temperature of the gas to be purified and the gettering material is usually 200 to 800 ° C, preferably 300 to 600 ° C, and the contact temperature of the gas to be purified and the adsorbent is usually 0 to 100 ° C, preferably 10 to 50 ° C. . Further, the pressure is not particularly limited, and may be any one of normal pressure, reduced pressure, and pressurized, and may be carried out under normal pressure to 1.0 MPa.

Further, the removal ability when the inert gas is brought into contact with the gettering material under the heating condition to remove the hydrogen impurities is extremely high in comparison with the removal ability when removing hydrocarbons such as methane, and thus the present invention allows the treatment of the nickel-containing metal. The method of refining the combination of the agent and the getter material does not have to worry about increasing the running cost. Further, after the inert gas is brought into contact with the zeolite at room temperature to remove carbon dioxide and water as impurities, the zeolite is heated and the carbon dioxide and water are desorbed to regenerate the zeolite, thereby allowing the zeolite to be regenerated. The refining method of the combination of the treating agent and the adsorbent does not have to worry about increasing the running cost.

The gas treatment cylinder of the present invention is a gas treatment apparatus capable of efficiently performing the above-described method, and as shown in the structural drawings of Figs. 1(1) and (2), the metal-containing nickel and/or oxidation of the treatment cylinder (purified cylinder) The treatment agent 1 for nickel is filled with the getter material 2 separated from each other by the gap 3 or the inert filler material 4, and is equipped with a heater 5 for heating the treating agent and the getter material. The filling ratio of the treating agent to the getter material is usually from 1:2 to 1,000, preferably from 1:3 to 100, by weight. Further, as the inert filler, a ceramic filler such as alumina, vermiculite, yttrium aluminum or magnesium earth can be usually used. Further, the gap between the treating agent and the getter material or the filling length of the inert filler is usually 2 to 1000 mm, preferably 5 to 500 mm. In addition, 6 in Fig. 1 denotes a temperature sensor. When the above gap or filling length is less than 2 mm, the treating agent will come into contact with the gettering material, and there is a possibility that the ability to remove the gettering material is lowered. When it exceeds 1000 mm, the gas treating cylinder becomes large and unsuitable.

The gas processing cylinder of the present invention is generally cylindrical in shape and generally has an inner diameter of 10 to 500 mm and a length of 20 to 2,500 mm. The total filling length of the treatment agent and the getter material filled in the gas treatment cylinder is usually 10 to 2000 mm, preferably 50 to 1000 mm. In addition, examples of the material constituting the gas processing cylinder include carbon steel, manganese steel, chrome steel, molybdenum steel, stainless steel, and nickel steel. Among them, stainless steel such as SUS316 or SUS316L is preferable.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be more specifically described by way of examples, but the invention is not limited to the examples.

[Example 1]

(Preparation of treatment agent) Commercially available nickel catalyst (containing metallic nickel and nickel oxide, Ni: 45 to 47 wt%, Cr: 2 to 3 wt%, Cu: 2 to 3 wt%, diatomaceous earth: 27 to 29 wt%) Graphite: 4 to 5 wt%, specific surface area: 150 m ² /g, a molded body having a diameter of 5 mm and a height of 4.5 mm) used as a raw material for a treating agent. The nickel catalyst is a stabilized nickel catalyst which is subjected to mild oxidation after reduction to be treated to be in a state of not igniting in air. The nickel catalyst pulverized to 8 to 10 mesh was filled in a stainless steel processing cylinder having an inner diameter of 23 mm and a length of 1000 mm, and the filling length was 200 mm. The heater of the treatment tube was heated to bring the temperature of the catalyst (treatment agent) to 420 ° C, and hydrogen gas was introduced at a flow rate of 2,500 ml / minute, and the reduction treatment was carried out for 3 hours, followed by cooling to room temperature.

(Methane Removal Treatment) Then, after heating the heater of the treatment tube, argon gas containing 150 ppm of methane impurities was introduced at a flow rate of 3,300 ml/min to carry out methane removal treatment. In addition, the contact temperature of the argon gas with the treating agent was maintained at about 420 ° C during the removal process. During this period, a part of the gas removed from the treatment cylinder was sampled, and whether methane was removed by gas chromatography was measured. As a result, methane was removed even after 1000 hours, and the removal ability (per 1 g treatment) The amount of methane removed was 358 cc / g or more.

[Embodiment 2]

(Preparation of Treatment Agent) A commercially available stabilized nickel catalyst similar to that of Example 1 was pulverized to 8 to 10 mesh, and filled into a treatment cylinder in the same manner as in Example 1 to have a filling length of 200 mm. The heater of the treatment tube was heated to bring the temperature of the treatment agent to 420 ° C, and a mixed gas of oxygen and argon was introduced at a flow rate of 3,300 ml/min to slightly increase the concentration of oxygen from the initial 20 % was increased to a concentration of 100% at the end, and after 8 hours of oxidation treatment, it was cooled to normal temperature.

(Methane Removal Treatment) Then, after heating the heater of the treatment tube, argon gas containing 150 ppm of methane impurities was introduced at a flow rate of 3,300 ml/min to carry out methane removal treatment. In addition, the contact temperature of the argon gas with the treating agent was maintained at about 420 ° C during the removal process. During this period, a part of the gas removed from the treatment cylinder was sampled, and whether methane was removed by gas chromatography was obtained. As a result, methane was removed even after 1000 hours, and the removal ability (per 1 g) The amount of the treatment agent methane removed was 358 cc / g or more.

[Comparative Example 1]

(Preparation of getter material) Zirconium sponge and bulk vanadium (purity of 95% or more) are mixed with zirconium 70 wt% and vanadium 30 wt%, and then smelted in a high frequency induction heating furnace to obtain about 5 kg. alloy. The alloy was pulverized by a ball mill under an argon atmosphere, and 14 to 20 mesh were selected as a getter material. This was filled in a stainless steel-made refining cylinder having an inner diameter of 23 mm and a length of 1000 mm, and the filling length was 220 mm. The heater of the refining cylinder was heated to bring the temperature of the getter material to 500 ° C. At the same time, argon gas was introduced at a flow rate of 3,300 ml/min, and the activation treatment was carried out for 6 hours, followed by cooling to room temperature.

(Methane Removal Treatment) Then, after heating the heater of the purification cylinder, argon gas containing 150 ppm of methane impurities was introduced at a flow rate of 3,300 ml/min to carry out methane removal treatment. In addition, the contact temperature of the argon gas with the getter material was maintained at about 420 ° C during the removal process. During this period, a part of the gas removed from the refining cylinder was sampled, and whether methane was removed by gas chromatography was measured. As a result, methane could not be removed after 160 hours, and its removal ability (per gram of getter material) The amount of methane removed was 14.8 cc / g of material.

In addition, argon gas containing 260 ppm of hydrogen gas impurities was passed through a refining cylinder in the same manner as above, and hydrogen gas removal treatment was carried out in the same manner. As a result, the hydrogen gas removal ability was 85 cc/g.

[Comparative Example 2]

In the methane removal treatment of Example 1, methane was removed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that argon gas containing methane impurities was brought into contact with a treating agent (reduced treatment) at a normal temperature (about 25 ° C). deal with. As a result, the removal ability of the treatment agent (the amount of removal of methane per 1 g of the treatment agent) was 1 cc / g or less.

[Comparative Example 3]

In the methane removal treatment of Example 2, methane removal was carried out in the same manner as in Example 2 except that argon gas containing methane impurities was brought into contact with a treatment agent (oxidation treatment) at a normal temperature (about 25 ° C) temperature. deal with. As a result, the removal ability of the treatment agent (the amount of removal of methane per 1 g of the treatment agent) was 1 cc / g or less.

Example 3

(Production of a gas processing cylinder) A commercially available stabilized nickel catalyst which was pulverized in the same manner as in Example 1 was placed upstream of a stainless steel (SUS316L) treatment cylinder having an inner diameter of 37.1 mm and a length of 1000 mm, and the filling length was 100mm. Further, a gas-absorbent material prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1 was filled in a gap of 20 mm in the downstream direction, and the filling length was 220 mm, and a gas processing cylinder as shown in Fig. 1 (1) was produced.

The heater of the gas treatment cylinder was heated to bring the temperature of the treatment agent to 500 ° C, and argon gas was introduced from the downstream at a flow rate of 8400 ml/min, and after activation treatment for 6 hours, the mixture was cooled to normal temperature.

(Refining treatment of argon gas) Then, after heating the heater of the gas treatment cylinder to about 420 ° C, hydrogen gas, oxygen gas, carbon monoxide containing impurities as impurities were introduced from the inlet (upstream) of the gas treatment cylinder at a flow rate of 8400 ml/min. Argon gas of 10 ppm of carbon dioxide and water and 50 ppm of methane was subjected to purification treatment of argon gas. During this period, a portion of the gas removed from the gas treatment cylinder was sampled, and impurities (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water) contained in the argon gas were measured by atmospheric pressure mass spectrometry (API-MS) for a long period of time. After (500 hours), these impurities could not be detected. Further, the purified argon gas is added to the impurities and recycled again.

[Example 4]

(Production of gas processing equipment) will be equivalent to 5 commercially available The synthetic zeolite (adsorbent) was packed in a stainless steel adsorption cylinder having an inner diameter of 37.1 mm and a length of 800 mm to have a filling length of 100 mm. Then, the treatment cylinder (the inner diameter of 37.1 mm and the filling length of 100 mm) (upstream) prepared in the same manner as in the first embodiment was connected to the two cylinders (downstream) of the adsorption cylinder in parallel with the adsorption cylinder. Each of the cylinders can be separately subjected to oxidation treatment and activation treatment. In the treatment cylinder, the treatment agent was oxidized in the same manner as in Example 2, and the temperature of the adsorbent was heated to 350 ° C in the adsorption cylinder, and argon gas was introduced at a flow rate of 8,400 ml/min to carry out activation treatment for 8 hours. Then, each tube was cooled to room temperature.

(Refining treatment of argon gas) After heating the heater of the treatment tube to about 420 ° C, argon gas containing 10 ppm of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water and 50 ppm of methane as impurities was flowed at a flow rate of 8400 ml/min. The processing cylinder and the adsorption cylinder on one side thereof are passed through to perform argon gas refining treatment. During this period, a portion of the gas removed from the adsorption cartridge is sampled, and impurities (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water, methane) contained in the argon gas are measured by atmospheric pressure mass spectrometry (API-MS). After an hour, these impurities could not be detected.

Then, the adsorption cylinder was switched to the other side, and the argon gas refining treatment was continued. At the same time, the adsorbent of the adsorption cartridge used was regenerated by activation, and after 20 hours, the adsorption cylinder was again switched. By repeating this operation, the argon gas was purified, and after a long period of time (500 hours), impurities (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water, methane) could not be detected. Further, the purified argon gas is added to the impurities and recycled again.

[Example 5]

In the argon gas refining treatment of Examples 3 and 4, an inert gas containing hydrogen gas, oxygen gas, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water of 10 ppm, and methane 50 ppm of nitrogen gas, helium gas or helium gas as a purification treatment target was used. 3 and 4 were similarly refined. As a result, in any of the cases, impurities could not be detected after a long period of time (500 hours).

As described above, the treatment method, the purification method, and the gas treatment apparatus according to the examples of the present invention can easily remove methane impurities which are difficult to remove contained in the inert gas with high efficiency and excellent removal efficiency.

1. . . Treatment agent

2. . . Suction material

3. . . gap

4. . . Inert filling material

5. . . Heater

6. . . Temperature sensor

Fig. 1 (1) and (2) are structural views showing an example of the gas treatment cartridge of the present invention.

1. . . Treatment agent

2. . . Suction material

3. . . gap

4. . . Inert filling material

5. . . Heater

6. . . Temperature sensor

Claims (7)

A method for treating an inert gas, characterized in that an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon as an impurity is heated at 200 to 800 ° C and a BET specific surface area of the metal nickel and/or nickel oxide supported on the carrier is 10 to 300 m ² / The treating agent of g is contacted to remove hydrocarbons from the inert gas; and the content ratio of metallic nickel to nickel oxide is from 5 to 95% by weight based on the total of the treating agent. A method of treating an inert gas according to claim 1 wherein the hydrocarbon is methane. A method for purifying an inert gas, characterized in that an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon as an impurity is contacted with a treatment agent having a BET specific surface area of 10 to 300 m ² /g of metal nickel supported on a carrier under heating at 200 to 800 ° C And then contacting it with the getter material; and the content ratio of the metallic nickel to the nickel oxide is 5 to 95% by weight with respect to the entire treating agent. A method for purifying an inert gas, characterized in that an inert gas containing a hydrocarbon as an impurity is contacted with a treatment agent having a BET specific surface area of 10 to 300 m ² /g on a support and holding nickel oxide on a carrier under heating at 200 to 800 ° C And then contacting it with the adsorbent or getter material; and the content ratio of metallic nickel to nickel oxide is 5 to 95% by weight relative to the total treating agent. A gas processing cartridge characterized in that a treatment agent having a BET specific surface area of 10 to 300 m ² /g on a carrier carrying metal nickel and/or nickel oxide is separated from a getter material by a gap or an inert filler material And having a heater for heating the treating agent and the getter material; and the content ratio of the metallic nickel to the nickel oxide is 5 to 95% by weight with respect to the entire treating agent. The gas processing cartridge of claim 5, wherein the filling ratio of the treating agent to the getter material is 1:2 to 1000 by weight. The gas processing cartridge of claim 5, wherein the inert filler material is a ceramic filler material.