The potential for hydrogen is only beginning to be tapped. As the most abundant element in the universe, it plays a critical role in industrial processes like annealing, sintering and float glass manufacturing

Because of its unique chemical properties, hydrogen can be used to cool electric generators in large power stations. It can fuel gas turbines to help reduce emissions and it is employed as a base chemical in many processes such as de-sulfurization at refineries and the production of chemicals like ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, hydrochloric acid, and methanol.

Hydrogenation involves introducing hydrogen to chemically convert fatty acids in edible oils (such as vegetable oil or animal oil) to reduce the number of double bonds. Hydrogenated oil is far more shelf-stable and has a longer shelf life than untreated oil, a key reason why hydrogenated oils are employed in a wide variety of food and cooking applications today.

Oxygen in the air can cause edible oils to degrade, losing shelf life and flavor. Messer’s hydrogenation solutions combine with our nitrogen-based blanketing system to protect edible oils from oxidative decay during storage and transport, enhancing product stability and shelf life.

Hydrogen is primarily used for epitaxial deposition of silicon and silicon germanium in electronics manufacturing, as well as annealing of oxidized surfaces or a carrier gas in chromatography. Newer applications include using hydrogen as a cleaning agent to remove tin from the light sources of extreme UV lithography tools. An isotope of hydrogen (deuterium) is also used in the annealing process.

Hydrogen is used in a broad array of industrial processes. In glass manufacturing, it can be used for surface finishing and polishing of glass using hydrogen-oxygen flames, and for minimizing the use of carbon-containing fuels for special surface finishes. Hydrogen is also used in a mix with argon for plasma welding or mixed with oxygen for underwater cutting applications.

Flameless and semi-flameless oxy fuel solutions employ hydrogen blended with natural gas to help reduce emissions and boost throughput for combustion, melting, and reheating applications. Messer burners and heating solutions are compatible with hydrogen and blended fuel applications.

Metal heat treating applications employ hydrogen to provide a reducing atmosphere, which prevents oxidation from air leaks into the furnace. Hydrogen can also serve as a fuel for heat treatment in sintering, annealing, brazing and hardening solutions.

Messer’s heat treating team have the atmosphere control technology and know-how to help you increase throughput and parts quality:

• Messer’s proven sintering solutions and atmosphere control technology can:
  • Boost throughput by up to 50%
  • Produce brighter parts with less sooting
  • Slash carbon footprint and energy costs by up to 20%
• High Speed Gas Injection of hydrogen gas can help increase cooling rates to promote austenite formation for quenching and hardening applications.

Messer’s metals team performs furnace efficiency assessments and helps you comply with the relevant codes and standards.

As a safe, zero emission vehicle fuel, hydrogen can power fuel cells which are 2-3 times more efficient than internal combustion engines. Unlike batteries, hydrogen fuel cells offer an extended range, are not dependent on the electrical grid for re-charging, and can be re-fueled quickly, similarly to the way diesel is fueled today. Since Messer’s first hydrogen fueling application in 1997, our team has been at the forefront of hydrogen fueling technology that delivers a seamless experience for our customers.