Argon (Ar)
An inert gas
with unique properties used in a variety of industrial and analytical
applications
Argon is a
non-flammable gas that forms 0.9 percent of the earth's atmosphere.
Most commonly used in the metal industry for metal production,
processing and fabrication, it can be used as a pure gas for certain shielding,
blanketing, annealing and hot isostatic pressing (HIPing) applications. It can
also be used as part of a mixture with other gases, in particular carbon
dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen or helium, depending on the process and
material.
Its inert properties make argon popular in other industries such
as the glass industry for double glazing, the food industry for removing oxygen
from wine barrels, and analytical laboratories who use it as a carrier gas in
gas chromatography (GC) and in ICP-MS equipment.
Hydrogen (H₂)
The cleanest burning and most efficient fuel
Hydrogen exists
naturally on Earth but not in large quantities in its elemental form and so is
produced industrially in several ways. By far the most common method is through
steam-methane reforming (SMR) where the steam reacts with the natural gas
(methane) at very high temperatures to produce syngas (a hydrogen/carbon
monoxide mixture). The syngas can be further processed to convert the carbon
monoxide through a reaction with steam to produce more hydrogen. Hydrogen can
also be produced by using fossil fuels such as oil and coal by gasification, or
by the electrolysis of water.
Hydrogen can be used as a fuel through combustion or through a hydrogen fuel
cell. The space industry utilizes hydrogen as a propellant for rockets. Oil
refineries use hydrogen to make lower sulphur, cleaner burning transport fuels to
reduce air pollution, and the metals industries use hydrogen to reduce metal
oxides and to prevent oxidation during heat-treating process.
Hydrogen is used in semiconductor manufacturing to reduce atmospheres. In the
chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, hydrogenation processes are used
to combine hydrogen molecules with other compounds (for example oils and fats)
and so help extend shelf life, modify properties or conduct highly selective
transformations.
In the hydrogen for mobility transportation sector, fuel cell vehicles use
hydrogen to power an electric motor. In flat or float glass production, blends
of nitrogen and hydrogen are used to purge and capture any oxygen that is
present, to prevent oxidation and glass defects.
Air Products offers liquid hydrogen and compressed hydrogen gas in a variety of
purities and various modes of supply around the world, thanks to our network of
pipelines, hydrogen manufacturing plants and transfill facilities.
Helium (He)
The
inert gas for your cryogenic, heat transfer, shielding, leak detection,
analytical and lifting applications
Helium
is found in minute proportions in the atmosphere, less than 0.001% in air. It
can also be found in a certain number of natural gas fields, where it results
from the natural radioactive decay of heavy elements in the earth’s crust, in
particular, uranium and thorium. It is helium extracted from the natural gas
fields where the concentration is greater than 0.1% which is sold in liquid and
gaseous forms today.
The
extremely low temperature of liquid helium is used to maintain the
superconducting properties of magnets in applications such as Magnetic
Resonance Imagery (MRI), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and
particle physics research. Gaseous helium is used as an inert shielding gas in
metal arc and laser welding. It is also used as a coolant to transfer heat
effectively, thanks to its high thermal conductivity, in the fibre optics
and electronics industries. It serves as a carrier gas for gas chromatography
(GC) in analytical laboratories and as a leak detection gas in a wide range of
industries. Being both lighter than air and non-flammable, helium is used to
inflate both balloons and airships.
Air
Products offers liquid helium and compressed helium gas in a variety of
purities and in various modes of supply around the world thanks to our network
of storage and transfill facilities.
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