Product category:
Industrial gases and associated equipment
News Release from: Parker Domnick Hunter | Subject: N2MAX116 nitrogen generator
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 14 February 2006
Using N2, not argon, cuts gas costs by
two thirds
Manufacturer of compressed air filtration, separation and gas generation equipment installed a nitrogen generator to reduce its reliance on argon and has reduced gas costs by some two-thirds.
In May 2005 Domnick Hunter Fabrication installed one its parent company products, an N2MAX116 nitrogen generator to reduce its reliance on argon Since installation annual expenditure on gas has been reduced by around two thirds
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 23 Aug 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Domnick Hunter is a leading manufacturer of compressed air filtration, separation and gas generation solutions.
More than 5,000 stainless steel vessels are produced each year at the Boldon Business Park site and are exported to Domnick Hunter customers around the world.
With the majority of stainless steel vessels intended for critical applications such as food, beverage or pharmaceutical production, where cleanliness and sterility are paramount, finished quality is a very important consideration.
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Welding tends to erode stainless steel's anti-corrosion properties.
Chemical treatments after welding can remove oxide layers and restore corrosion resistance, however work of this type is costly.
An inert gas shrouding system during TIG welding helps to prevent the weld from oxidising.
This system typically protects the molten weld pool at three points: 1 - At the weld torch - argon is typically used as the shielding gas on the weld torch.
This prevents the weld pool from oxidising.
2 - Trailing the weld - a trailing gas prevents the semi molten weld pool from oxidising, here argon can be substituted with high purity nitrogen.
3 - The backing or root of the weld - a purging or backing gas is used here to protect the back of the weld and prevent the formation of black oxide layers.
High purity nitrogen can be used to provide this inert purge.
In addition to its relatively high cost, cryogenic argon can be very temperamental following any kind of shutdown such as holidays, or during ambient air temperature changes in summer months, when it can off-gas to the atmosphere and equate to expensive losses.
The Maxigas generator delivers nitrogen gas with a purity of 99.999% at a flow rate of 7.3m3/h.
Domnick Hunter fabrication still maintain a small argon cylinder supply for weld gas, but nitrogen is now used for the purging and trailing gas.
Ron Forbister, general manager at Domnick Hunter Fabrication says, "The main advantage of the nitrogen generator is its simplicity compared to cryogenic argon which could be quite unreliable.
Another advantage is that it is easy to increase nitrogen capacity, simply by adding extra generators.".
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