At Air Products, our goal is to provide you with information and
technology to enable you to do your job better. One way is through the graphs below, which
have been compiled by Air Products' economists to illustrate three-year trends for
industrial production, utility and metal pricing. We will update this information for you every quarter.
Industrial Production Indexes
Source: US Federal Reserve Bank Board of Governors
Click here to view the graph.
Utility Pricing Metrics
Source: Inside F.E.R.C., Bureau of Labor Statistics
Click here to view the graph.
Steel Prices
Source: Market Pricing
Click here to view the graph.
Key Metals Prices
Source: London Metals Exchange
Click here to view the graph.
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Air Products' Oxy-Fuel Technology Yields Significant Savings for Ladle Preheaters
A firm believer in improving the performance and efficiency of his operation, Joe Malchar,
Manager of Ladle Metallurgy and Refractories at Gerdau Ameristeel's Midlothian, Texas mini-mill, was intrigued by
Air Products' oxy-fuel technology to preheat his ladles. With the increase in natural gas
pricing and the availability of oxygen on-site, Malchar turned to Air Products' novel
oxy-fuel technology, eventually converting five preheaters from forced air to Air Products' oxy-fuel burners.
Installation and commissioning of the oxy-fuel technology was accomplished in under 24 hours
with Malchar commenting, "Air Products understands steel—they were well informed
on our application, ensuring that everything went smoothly."
The mill has been pleased with the ease of operation, excellent reliability and safety of the
oxy-fuel burners, as well as the 60% saving in natural gas consumption that has been realized with
Air Products' oxy-fuel technology. For more information on how Air Products'
steel know-how and novel oxy-fuel technology can positively impact your operation, call us at 800-654-4567, code 547.
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When you need help with troubleshooting and problem solving, did you know that the experienced
technical staff at Air Products is ready to assist you? To help internal R&D as
well as Air Products' customers, our Global Analytical Science (GAS) department
has built comprehensive analytical capabilities, including more than 40 scientists and
$16+ million of capital equipment. Together, they can provide rapid, accurate and
thorough solutions to characterization problems.
GAS offers a full range of analytical capabilities for chemical characterization, including product
composition, concentration quantification, and impurity and contaminant identification; sorption capabilities;
materials engineering expertise; and state-of-the-art instrumentation for measuring the chemical
and physical properties of surfaces. Each technique has its unique value in terms of sensitivity,
resolution, sample specifications and speed, yet many of them are complementary to each other.
The role of Air Products' analytical scientists is to understand your application
and analytical problem and use the right technique or combination of techniques to solve your challenge.
> Learn more about how Air Products' GAS Analytical Services can help you solve your challenge.
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Aluminum RSI Producer Realizes Numerous Benefits with Air Products' Oxy-Fuel Burners
Twelve years ago, Greenway Industries recognized a need for a rotary furnace operation in
Ontario, Canada and decided to use cutting-edge technology in the belief that it would translate into
better yields and happier customers. As part of this approach, Greenway turned to Air Products
for its proprietary oxy-fuel burners. "We are now on our third rotary furnace using Air Products'
oxy-fuel technology," states Rob Rakovsky, Vice President at Greenway Industries,
continuing, "and have a good working relationship with Air Products, both from a
technical and sales standpoint."
Greenway Industries makes aluminum remelt secondary ingot (RSI) in a multitude of grades, which
is processed in two rotary furnaces that have oxy-fuel burners mounted on the door. When the door
is closed, a controlled furnace atmosphere is created. Greenway's Rakovsky summarizes the
technology and the furnace atmosphere saying, "Air Products' oxy-fuel system
burns hotter, burns cleaner and with less emissions." And when Greenway transitions to a new
100,000-square-foot facility with full indoor storage capacity in 2008, Air Products'
technology and expertise will be right there with them.
"Our goal is to deliver results," explains Frank Romano, Lead Engineer at Air Products,
continuing, "We put our experience to work for our customers, whether it's higher production rates,
greater yields, improved emissions or troubleshooting a problem. Our dedicated team of aluminum
specialists and local account support will work with you to meet your needs." To learn how Air Products'
state-of-the-art oxy-fuel technology can help you increase your production and lower your costs, call
800-654-4567, code 547.
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10,000 and Counting
Air Products recently installed its 10,000th customer installation of the company's innovative
CryoEase® Microbulk Solutions for small-volume industrial gas users. The novel gas supply and
services option has had a positive impact in numerous markets, including metals processing,
because it virtually eliminates cylinder handling, reduces product deliveries and is particularly
cost-effective when compared to traditional cylinder gas options.
Number 10,000 went in to meet argon needs for vacuum furnaces at the Georgia site of a strategic
global customer with locations worldwide.
Microbulk gas delivery supply is available for argon, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. This
global favorite has been available since before 1990 in Europe and since 2005 in the U.S.
> To learn more about how your operation can benefit with microbulk solutions visit
www.airproducts.com/microbulk.
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Russell Hewertson
Manager of Combustion Technology
Q:
Why do people use oxygen for combustion when air is free?
A:
The simplified answer is because 80% of air (the nitrogen) doesn't help your process and, in fact,
can hurt it. Since nitrogen doesn't burn, it can negatively impact your operation—whereas, combustible
oxygen provides a host of benefits. You can read Russ's full answer or listen to a video where he
explains more details at www.airproducts.com/combustion1.
> View past "Ask the Expert" questions, answers and videos.
> Have a question for us? Send it to gigmrktg@airproducts.com.
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Our representatives hope to see you at these events to discuss your metals processing needs.
- CastExpo'08
(Booth 2062)
May 17–20, 2008
Atlanta, GA
- PM2008 World Congress
June 8–12, 2008
Washington, DC
- International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS)
June 8–12, 2008
Chicago, IL
- Aeromat
June 22–26, 2008
Austin, TX
- Fabtech and AWS Welding Show
October 6–8, 2008
Las Vegas, NV
- Furnaces North America
Oct 21-22, 2008
Nashville, TN
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Jiyun Xu
Jiyun Xu likes when problems come her way. "I enjoy solving
different challenges from a wide variety of sources," she states. Dr. Xu, an expert in
surface analysis, is part of Air Products' Global Analytical Services (GAS)
department. This unique organization not only supports Air Products' in-house
R&D and analytical needs, it also provides analytical support to Air Products'
customers. It is this variety that Dr. Xu likes the most, noting "I enjoy communicating with
our customers to understand their problem and working with them to find a solution."
Dr. Xu, who holds a bachelor's degree from Beijing University, a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry
from Penn State, and has finished post-doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania,
specializes in scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which is able to produce surface images
with nanometer resolution, liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS ), and
TOF-SIMS. TOF-SIMS, or time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, can obtain
chemical information from the topmost surface of a material with 0.1% to part-per-million sensitivity.
Jiyun lives with her husband in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. When not solving another surface analysis
challenge, she can be found enjoying Toastmasters or cheering on the Nittany Lions football team of Penn State.
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You can request more information or any
of the documents referenced in this issue by calling us at 800-654-4567,
code 547, or by sending an e-mail to gigmrktg@airproducts.com.
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