Nitrogen Generators for Heat Treating
Nitrogen gas is used in heat treating processes to remove oxygen from furnaces and create an inert environment that eliminates oxidation and is conducive to creating high-quality products with excellent finishes. Installing an onsite nitrogen generator provides a reliable, cost-effective source of nitrogen, ensuring consistent furnace atmospheres, improving process control, and reducing reliance on external gas suppliers.
Uses of Nitrogen Gas in Heat Treating
Nitrogen gas plays a critical role in heat treating by providing an inert atmosphere that protects metals from oxidation. It is commonly used to:
- Prevent oxidation: By displacing oxygen in the furnace, nitrogen minimizes surface defects and ensures a clean, high-quality finish.
- Control furnace atmosphere: Consistent nitrogen flow helps maintain precise temperatures and uniform treatment, improving product consistency.
- Support specialized processes: Nitrogen is ideal for processes like nitriding, annealing, and sintering, where controlled atmospheres are essential for desired material properties.
Benefits of Onsite Nitrogen Gas Generation in Heat Treating
There are a lot of advantages to installing an onsite nitrogen generating system for your heat treating operations:
- Reduced operational costs: Onsite generated nitrogen is the lowest cost nitrogen available. Costs are further reduced by eliminating the wasteful evaporation losses common with bulk liquid nitrogen.
- No supply interruptions: Onsite nitrogen generating systems eliminate the need to order and purchase nitrogen every time your supply runs low and needs to be replenished.
- Greater control: The convenience of generating your own nitrogen onsite gives you more control and access to monitoring the nitrogen purity and oxygen levels of the nitrogen for specific applications.
Applications of Nitrogen Generators in Heat Treating
To determine the appropriate nitrogen purity levels for each project, it’s important to note the exact oxygen content that the furnace model and material that’s being processed can safely tolerate. Heat treating requires a nitrogen purity rate ranging between 99% and 99.999% for optimal performance and to maintain safety standards. Oxygen can severely weaken and discolor the product.
Some Industries That Use Nitrogen Heat Treating:
- Aluminum extrusion operations
- Specialty metal production operations
- Metal fabrication operations
- Metal tube manufacturing operations
How to Choose the Right Nitrogen Generator for Heat Treating
Selecting the right nitrogen generator depends on your specific application, production volume, and quality requirements. Key factors to consider include:
- Nitrogen purity requirements: Processes such as heat treating or material processing require varying purity levels depending on the materials being treated. Higher purity may be critical for sensitive operations such as annealing stainless steel.
- Production capacity: Match the generator’s output with your daily nitrogen consumption to ensure continuous supply without excess energy use.
- Space and installation: Consider available space, ease of installation, and maintenance requirements. Compact systems are beneficial for facilities with limited floor space.
Nitrogen Generators for Heat Treating
Nitrogen generators are essential for creating an inert atmosphere in heat treating furnaces, preventing oxidation, and ensuring consistent, high-quality finishes. Among the available technologies, PSA nitrogen generators are widely used due to their ability to deliver high-purity nitrogen on demand. By integrating a PSA nitrogen generator into their operations, manufacturers can maintain tighter control over furnace atmospheres, enhance product quality, and achieve long-term cost savings.
Why Choose Advanced Gas Technologies
Advanced Gas Technologies has been designing, installing and maintaining highly efficient, state-of-the-art, PSA nitrogen generators for metal production and fabrication facilities with heat treating operations for over 20 years. We can supply complete turnkey systems including feed air compressors, required nitrogen booster compressors and all related ancillaries. Call us today and let us put our expertise to work and help you cut nitrogen costs by installing an onsite nitrogen generating system.
Contact us toll-free at 1-(866) 725-7551 in North America or (905) 305-0094 local and overseas to learn more about our onsite oxygen and nitrogen generators.
