Overview
The percentage-level (%) Argon (Ar) thermal conductivity analyzer utilizes highly stable Thermal Conductivity Detection (TCD) technology. It is widely used in air separation units (ASU), high-purity shielding gas blending, steelmaking argon recovery, and silicon crystal growth. Delivering precise, online measurements of Ar in binary or quasi-binary mixtures (such as Ar/N2, Ar/O2, or Ar/He), it monitors distillation stages in argon purification columns and optimizes recycling systems, serving as key instrumentation for industrial gas production and process protection.
Principle
When the sample gas enters the thermal conductivity cell, and a thermistor is used above the film to maintain a constant temperature. In this way, a small cavity is formed below and above the membrane, and the measurement gas can diffuse into it. In this way, the heat loss caused by the thermal conductivity of the sample gas is compensated by heating, and the power required to maintain a constant temperature of the membrane is a measurement of the thermal conductivity of the measured gas.
Application
• Air Separation Units (ASU) & Argon Purification
Crude & Pure Argon Distillation: Real-time monitoring of Ar concentration at the outlets of crude argon columns and pure argon refiners to evaluate distillation efficiency.
Air Separation Process Optimization: Measuring the ternary split of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon to dynamically balance the distillation columns and maximize argon yield.
• Industrial & Shielding Gas Blending
Binary Gas Mixture Control: Continuous measurement and verification of customized shielding gas mixtures (e.g., Ar/N2, Ar/He, Ar/O2, or Ar/CO2) used in automated welding and metal fabrication.
Food Packaging Gases: Quality control of argon-based modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) mixtures to preserve food freshness.
• Metallurgical & Smelting Processes
Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD): Monitoring the concentration of injected and recycled argon in stainless steel refining loops to optimize decarburization efficiency.
Off-Gas Recovery Systems: Measuring argon purity in metallurgical off-gas to determine feasibility and efficiency of argon recycling.
• Semiconductor & Solar Silicon Production
Czochralski (CZ) Silicon Pulling: Monitoring the purity of the argon shielding atmosphere during monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon crystal growth to prevent carbon/oxygen contamination.
Exhaust Gas Recycle Loops: Analyzing argon concentration in silicon wafer manufacturing recovery lines to reduce valuable argon consumption.
Measurement components and ranges
• Ar: 0 ~ 10% up to 100%(Vol)
For detailed introduction, please refer to Thermal Conductivity Analyzer.