How Industrial Gases Are Used To Innovate In Manufacturing

The gaseous materials that are specially manufactured for exclusive use in various industries are called industrial gases, which mainly include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, helium, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and acetylene. These gases play a crucial role in several manufacturing industries such as food processing, automotive industry, semiconductors, and also steel manufacturing and metal fabrication. Read on to get a more detailed idea of their uses in these industries.

Food processing
With consumers demanding fewer additives and safer and fresher food products, there is an increasing demand for these gases to be used instead of chemical ingredients. A natural shelf-life enhancing method known as Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), is growing rapidly. This technique often compliments high-pressure and microwave methods or oxygen absorption, and maintains high-quality of food by retaining its original taste, texture, and appearance, if the correct gas mixture is used.

Semiconductors
Most semiconductors are shaped and built by mainly using gas materials, which are a key promoter of semiconductor fabrication. The gases are used since they have the ability to create chemical reactions at the molecular level, that help to shape the electrical conducting properties of the semiconductor so as to allow or prevent the movement of electrons. The primary gas used in this industry is Silicon Tetrafluoride.

Automotive industry
Several industrial gas suppliers provide speciality gases that are used in the automotive industry. The use of such gases is increasing rapidly as they are used in car headlamps that contain xenon, and indicator lamps that contain argon and nitrogen.

Speciality gas mixtures are also used for cutting sheet metal for doors and the car body.
In addition to this, the brazing process that is used to assemble automotive air conditioning heat exchangers is carried out in a controlled hydrogen or nitrogen atmosphere.

Modern vehicles also have safety airbags in which high-pressure argon is used in combination with other rare gases for ultra-high-speed bag inflation.

Calibration gases are used for checking the emission from the engine during the design phase and also subsequently for monitoring purposes. With a renewed focus on environment conservation and emission reduction, the accuracy of these calibration gases become very critical.

Manufacturing
These speciality gases produced by industrial gas manufacturers are one of the most important ingredients in the lighting industry for the manufacture of light bulbs containing argon, neon, nitrogen, xenon, and krypton.

They are used to fill the gap between double glazing windows to ensure that modern buildings are well insulated to be energy efficient. Other manufacturing processes use hydrogen and nitrogen mixtures for heat treatment of metals to induce hardness and other physical properties.

High purity gases are also used in the quality control of metals, plastics, and other raw materials. Other applications of industrial gases include the safety testing of manufactured products and toys such as flammability, combustibility.

Steel manufacturing and metal fabrication
Industrial gases play a vital role in the steel manufacturing and metal fabrication industry. They are used in primary and fabricated metals production, which are essential to almost all types of industrial sectors like automotive, defence, and construction.

Oxygen is a very important gas used in the steel manufacturing process since it is the primary raw material for making steel.

Oxygen is also an essential ingredient in the electric arc furnace.
Industrial gas suppliers also provide argon gas that can be used in conjunction with oxygen in a common technology for refining stainless steel and as a shielding gas for the electric arc welding of non-ferrous and speciality metals. Such gases also have important applications in metal fabrication, for instance, acetylene is used for welding and metal cutting.

Nitrogen finds its application in heat treating and metalworking for products such as metal sheeting, wires, rods, and castings.

Conclusion
When looking for industrial gas manufacturers, seek the ones that are known to provide high-quality gases for all manufacturing needs at the best prices.