ARGON IS AR
Argon is an atom, with the symbol Ar and atomic number 18 and atomic mass 39,948. It was discovered in the 19th century by Sir Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay. It is a colorless, odorless, non-combustible and non-toxic noble gas. It is heavier than air. Air contains a concentration of approximately 0.93% argon. The most important chemical property of argon is its inertia, but also the visible spectral line of the argon atom in a plasma makes argon applications in lighting possible. Argon is also often used in mixtures in plasma, welding and cutting applications, often in combination with lower concentration of other active gas components in 2,3,4 and more component gas mixtures.
NAMING CONVECTIONS E.G ARGON 4.6
The quality of the gas is expressed in number of nines in the purity. When you see Argon 4.6, Argon 5.0, Argon 4.8 or any other number after the gas name it expresses the purity where the first number represents the number of 9’s in the purity and the number after the point the last digit in the purity. Argon 4.6 is thus a 99,996 % pure gas. The remaining components are specified in the technical data sheet of the gas
PROPERTIES OF ARGON
For more information about the properties as well as an easy calculator to convert between the units, Messer proposes its application in either Apple Store or Android Play
APPLICATIONS OF ARGON
Welding: Thanks to its unwillingness to create bonds with other gases, argon is the ideal protective gas for welding, even at very high temperatures of the plasma arch, which is often the case in metal processing. Indeed even at very high temperatures and In contrast to nitrogen, argon remains inert and does not form compounds with oxygen. Argon is an excellent gas for both MIG and TIG welding. The ideal welding gas for specific welding works can be compiled by possibly adding other active gas components (carbonic acid, helium, nitrogen or oxygen) into two, three, four and even higher component gases. Laser welding and also 3D metal printing techniques have become important areas for argon applications.
Extinguishing: argon can also serve as an extinguishing agent in areas where water or foam cannot be used.
Analysis: argon is used as carrier gas in spectrometry.
Insulation: argon can also be found in double glazing because of its good insulating properties.
Food: argon is used as protection against oxidation during the rinsing of quality wines.
Medical: argon is used as laser gas for medical applications such as eye surgery, vein removal and for removing tattoos.
3D printing: argon prevents products from oxidizing during printing
For more detailed information about applications of nitrogen throughout the industry as well as the expertise that Messer can supply to solve challenges in your processes with our knowledge of gases (we call it application technology) , we refer to the pages (in English) on our corporate website. It gives you also more information on the R&D efforts and trials that Messer proposes.
ARGON GAS BOTTLES
There are gas cylinders in different sizes and with different pressures. Depending on the type of gas in the bottle, the "shoulder" of the bottle has a different color, which is standardized under the European standard EN 1089-3. In the case of argon this is green. An overview of the different colors of the gas bottles can be found here.
At high pressure argon gas deviates from the ideal gas law. For example, at a pressure of 200 bar, a gas cylinder contains 7% more gas than the ideal gas law requires. An argon gas cylinder of 300 bar contains up to 50% more argon gas than a gas cylinder with 200 bar. This is the highest possible pressure. At Messer we offer both types of pressure for argon gas cylinders.
Like all bottles, our gas bottles are treated on the inside, dried and chemically made passive. In this way we can guarantee optimum purity and avoid that our customers or our employees are exposed to certain risks because the gas bottles have not been treated properly by the previous user.
Because the bottles come in different shapes and pressures, it is important that the correct accessories are supplied. This way the gas can be led to your application under the right pressure and with the right flow rate. For bottles that do not contain a pressure of 300 bar, the thread varies from country to country.
LIQUID ARGON IN CONTAINERS – LIQUID ARGON IN CRYOGENIC STORAGE VESSELS
We also offer argon in liquid form for large consumers. We have a wide range of storage tanks with different capacities.
To keep the temperature of liquid argon low, the argon must be stored in a cryogenic containers. You can purchase or rent this cryogenic containers (dewar or portable liquid container (PLC), cryogenic tank or mini-bulk). Due to the extremely low temperatures, the safety regulations must be strictly adhered to. For example, it is recommended to wear cryogenic protective gloves or other special protective gloves.
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS & TECHNICAL DATA SHEETS ARGON
For more information we refer to our product finder on this page.
BUY ARGON (PURCHASE)
As a company or as a private individual you can purchase argon gas at one of our distribution points in your country or in the Messer distribution network worldwide. Most customers order our bottles online or by phone. Depending on the distribution point, you can collect the bottles or have them delivered to your home. The bottles are available in different sizes. We offer a full range of welding gases (Feroline, Inoxline, Aluline, Lasline), ranging from industrial argon to high-quality gases and specialized mixtures. For more information on the welding gases, laser and 3d printing gases we refer to the pages on “welding gases”
