Protective properties of a nitrogen atmosphere with an admixture of natural gas

Abstract

The present difficulties with energy supply in Russia require strict control of consumption of natural gas and power and observation of environmental restrictions. This necessitates of the development of economically and environmentally optimum protective atmospheres. For relatively small heat treatment furnaces the use of nitrogen as a carrier gas can be of some interest. In this case environmentally inexpedient exo- and endogenerators with the corresponding expensive and complex systems for automatic control of the carbon potential become unnecessary. Foreign experience shows that nitrogen can be used by means of a rather simple technology that includes an imported cryostat with liquid nitrogen, a line for feeding natural gas, and the corresponding mixing and proportioning devices. In the present work the possibility of using nitrogen with an admixture of natural gas as a protective atmosphere for annealing is considered.