Permeability of the tube material is relevant to peristaltic pumping when handling fluids or gases that are to be analysed for their gas content, or where there is a chance of a gas permeating into the fluid and affecting a reaction.
Note that the higher the value, the more gas will permeate through the tube wall. Silicone is the most permeable material in the range and PVC the least.
 | Low | High |
Bioprene® |  |
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Butyl |
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Chem.Sure |
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Fluorel® |
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Marprene® | |
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Neoprene |
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PVC |
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Silicone | |
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Sta-Pure® | |
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The information in the table below was supplied by the manufacturer of the base material. There may be variations caused by compounding and the extrusion process of the final product.
Gas | Marprene | Silicone | Neoprene | Butyl | Tygon | Fluorel |
| Units cc / cm2 / cm / s / atm at 23C |
Air | 2.78 x 10-8 | 2.39 x 10-6 | 1.4 x 10-8 | 8 x 10-9 | 2.28 x 10-10 to 3.65 x 10-9 | 5 x 10-9 |
N2 | 2.24 x 10-8 | 1.85 x 10-6 | 1 x 10-8 | | 1.52 x 10-10 to 2.28 x 10-9 | 3 x 10-9 |
O2 | 5.83 x 10-8 | 4.1 x 10-6 | 3 x 10-8 | | 5.32 x 10-10 to 9.12 x 10-9 | 1.1 x 10-8 |
CO2 | 3.47 x 10-7 | 2.2 x 10-5 | 1.9 x 10-7 | | 1.29 x 10-10 to 5.59 x 10-8 | 6 x 10-8 |
Helium | | | 1 x 10-7 | | | 16 x 10-8 |
Methane | | | 2 x 10-8 | | | |
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