Patent ID: 7611903

Claim:
An apparatus for quantitatively reducing oxide gases, comprising: a vial, said vial having an upper section and a lower section; a pre-selected amount of reductant in said lower section of said vial; a tube in said lower section of said vial; a multiplicity of glass beads in said lower section of said vial located above said reductant and below said tube, said glass beads separating said reductant and said tube; a pre-selected amount of a catalyst in said tube; a closure for said vial that allows gas transfer in and out of said vial; means for trapping said oxide gases in said vial; and a heater for heating said lower section of said vial, said tube, said reductant, said catalyst, and said oxide gases, said heater surrounding said lower section of said vial, said heater comprising a first copper block, a second copper block with a hole in said first copper block and said second copper block with said hole having a depth to receive said lower section of said vial so that said first copper block together with said second copper block surrounds said lower section of said vial wherein said upper section of said vial extends above said hole and said first copper block and said second copper block, and said lower section of said vial extends into said hole, and a heating element between said first copper block and said second copper block for heating said first copper block, said second copper block, and said lower section of said vial, said tube, said reductant, said catalyst, and said oxide gases.