Eight Gas Analysis for Complete Furnace Atmosphere Control

Eight Gas Analysis for Complete Furnace Atmosphere Control October 9, 2002 Ronald R. Rich, President Atmosphere Recovery, Inc. 15800 32 nd Avenue North, Suite 110 Plymouth, MN 55447 Ph: (763) 557 -8675 Fax: (763) 557 -8668 Web: www. atmrcv. com E-mail: rrr@atmrcv. com 1

Presentation Outline ® Atmosphere Control Issues ® Laser Gas Analyzer Technology ® Standard Process Applications ® Endothermic Carburizing ® Annealing/Brazing ® New Process Example ® Rapid Carburizing ® Economic Benefits of Eight Gas Control ® Questions 2

Heat Furnace Atmospheres – Similar Constituents & Control Needs ® Carburizing, Carbonitriding, FNC & Nitriding ® N 2, CO, H 2, CO 2, H 2 O, CH 4, O 2, NH 3, CH 3 OH ® Atmosphere Tempering and Annealing ® N 2, H 2, CO 2, H 2 O, CH 4, O 2, NH 3, Ar ® Steel, Copper and Aluminum Brazing ® N 2, H 2, CO 2, H 2 O, CH 4, O 2, NH 3, Ar ® Powdered Metal Sintering and Annealing ® H 2, N 2, CO 2, H 2 O, CH 4, O 2, NH 3, H 2 S 3

Atmosphere Control Needs (1) – Better Control = Less Use Waste Gas Natural Gas and Other Fuels Process Gases and Liquid (Vapors) Fixed Flow or Single Gas High Use (H) Std. Multi-Gas Adds Control Med. Use (M) Complete Gas Control/Reuse Low Use (L) Amounts H M L Industrial Process Gas Furnace 4

Atmosphere Control Needs (2) – Part/Product Quality ® Improved Real Time “Potential” Control ® Carbon (Carburizing & Neutral Hardening) ® Nitrogen (Nitriding) ® Oxidation/Reduction (All Gas Processes) ® Impurity Diffusion (Most Gas Processes) ® Surface Factors ® Retained Austenite ® Intergranular Oxidation ® Hardness ® Scaling/Coating for Process Function ® Atmosphere Constituent Uniformity 5

Atmosphere Control Needs (3) – Operation & Maintenance ® Equipment Deterioration Compensation ® Process Gas/Liquid Supply Variation ® Burner Tubes ® Soot Buildup ® Door and Seam Leaks ® Control System Performance ® Reduction of Downtime ® Scheduled and Periodic ® Unscheduled 6

Atmosphere Control Needs (4) – Other Significant Issues ® Energy Costs ® Destructive Analysis Requirements ® Parts Re-Work ® Process Documentation ® Furnace Safety ® Increase Furnace Throughput 7

ARI Products Measure, Control & Recycle Process Gases Natural Gas and Other Process Fuels Laser Gas Analyzer Furnace Process Gas Controller Process Gas Supply Process Gas Recycling Gas Mixtures 8

Core of ARI Control – Unique Process Gas Detector Gas to be Analyzed In Special Particle Filter 8 Optical Filters/Sensors (1 for Each Gas Measured) Detector Assembly Plasma Cell Mirror Polarizer Gas Sample Tube Laser Beam Prism & Mirror Gas Out 9

Laser Gas Analysis Principals ® Unique Signature for Each Chemical Bond Type (Molecular Scattering of Laser Light: “Raman Effect”) ® All Pertinent Gaseous Species Measurable (Principle of Measurement Requires a Chemical Bond) ® ® ® Simultaneous Measurement of 8 Different Species “Real Time” Detector Response (50 milliseconds) Linear Proportionality to Number of Gas Atoms 0 -100% Gas Concentrations with One Detector Accuracy Better Than NIST Calibration Gases Stable Zero and Single-Span Gas Calibration 10

Analyzer – Industrial Product Model 4 EN Furnace Gas Analyzer Outside View Inside View 11

Standard Furnace Constituents Monitored and Detection Limits Gas Species Hydrogen - H 2 Nitrogen - N 2 Oxygen - O 2 Water Vapor - H 2 O Carbon Monoxide - CO Carbon Dioxide - CO 2 Organics - Cx. Hy Ammonia - NH 3 Lower Limit 100 ppm 50 ppm 10 -50 ppm* 50 ppm 25 ppm 10 -50 ppm* *Customer Selectable – Selecting Lower Value Limits The Upper Range to 30%; Other Gas Species Substitutable as Options 12

Example Software Control Screens Main Control Screen Atmosphere Analysis Values 13

LGA Analysis Advantages ARI Approach Raman Gas Analyzer Other Approaches Features • Multi-Gas Detection (Eight) • Fast – Response in Seconds • All Key Gas Processes Controlled • Rugged and Reliable Limitations • Inefficient & Quality Control Issues Manual Flow Control • High Energy Use & Emissions • Inefficient & Quality Control Issues Single Gas Analyzers • Still High Energy Use & Emissions • Can’t Detect Key Gases Infrared Analyzers • Low Range & Frequent Calibration • Slow – Response in Minutes Gas Chromatographs • Carrier Gas & Frequent Calibration • Can’t Discriminate Key Gases Mass Spectrometers (Future) • Complex & Expensive 14

Benefits of Laser Gas Analysis Surface Hardening Quality Using Standard Atmospheres ® Surface Carbon and Nitrogen Properties ® Improved Surface Hardness ® Controlled Surface Retained Austenite ® White Layer Control ® Consistent Compressive Residual Stress ® Reduced Intergranular Oxidation ® Improved Same Batch Consistency ® Improved Batch-to-Batch Consistency ® Faster Cycle Times 15

Benefits of Laser Gas Control Brazing and Annealing with Standard Exothermic & Hydrogen/Nitrogen ® Reduced Atmosphere Consumption ® Reduced Energy Use ® Lower Air Emissions (Exo) ® Generator Air/Fuel Ratio Control (Exo) ® Burner/Chiller Malfunction Warning (Exo) ® Gas Supply Quality Warnings ® Purge and Leak Safety Improvements ® Improved Part/Product Consistency 16

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Benefits of Laser Gas Analysis Heat Treating Energy Savings ® Atmosphere Gas Consumption Reduced Endothermic Example – 90%+ Exothermic Example – 50%+ Hydrogen/Nitrogen Example – 80%+ Ammonia Reduction – 50%+? ® Extra Gas Generators Turned Off ® Shorter Cycle Times Inherent Carburizing Example – 20% ® Total Process Savings Significant Carburizing Example – 25% of Total Furnace Exothermic Example – 15% of Total Furnace 18

Benefits of Laser Gas Analysis – In-Situ Rapid Carburizing ® Greatly Increased Production Capacity Example: Cycle time for ~1 mm case reduced 50% ® Up to 40% Energy Savings ® Elimination of Endo Generators ® Further Improved Product Quality ® Reduced Sooting and Furnace Maintenance 19

Example 96% Endo Savings Door and Burner Leaks Reduced Stack and Flare Shut Off Surface Combustion All-Case Furnace (Shown Under Standard Operation) 20

Example Use for Rapid Carburizing 21

System Paybacks in Less Than 12 Months Benefit Productivity Improvement • Reduced Processing • Times Improved Quality Standard Carburizing Rapid Exothermic Carburizing Annealing Up to 20% Up to 50% 25% 40% Up to 30% Reduced Process Gas Use Up to 90% Up to 98% Up to 90% Reduced Regulated Emissions Over 90% Over 98% Over 90% ARI System Price (Typical) $40 -100 K $70 -150 K $40 -90 K Reduced Energy Consumption Example Customer Cost Benefits • Capital Savings (Avoiding Conventional Equipment)* • Operation & Maintenance Cost Reduction Gear Manufacturer Axle Copper Tube Manufacturer Annealer $150 K $250 K $90 K $100 K/year $200 K/year $100 K/year * Includes Furnaces, Atmosphere Generators, and Ancillary Equipment if Plant New or Near Capacity 22