To date greenhouse gas emissions have not been an issue with North American heat treaters meaning they are not something which heat treaters have had to consider, however with current global sentiment about global climate change it would appear that this is something which heat treaters might be forced to take into account.
Recently we have had 3 captive heat treaters ask “The Monty Heat Treat News” for costing on converting their natural gas fired batch IQ furnaces to electric heat. While the idea of switching from relatively inexpensive natural gas to the more expensive option of electricity appears to be ludicrous to us, in each case the answer was the same-management at each company had dictated that all avenues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must at least be considered-(incidentally at least 2 furnace builders confided to us that they feel electric heating will become the norm rather than the exception in the coming years for exactly this reason). We will qualify our statement saying gas is cheaper than electricity by adding that in North American most atmosphere furnaces are heated with natural gas because of cost, however regions such as the US Northwest, Tennessee and Quebec, Canada are the reverse because in these regions electricity is the cheaper option.
Another option which has been suggested to us several times over the past few months is heating with hydrogen, a much cleaner gas than natural gas. While we are not aware of any heat treating furnaces in North America being heated with hydrogen it would appear that the technology is advancing as can be seen in the article below. Whether you agree with concerns over emissions or disagree is probably a mute point, it would certainly appear that this consideration will be popping up more and more often and will influence future debates over how furnaces are heated.
“(This entire article can be found at https://emcombustion.es/en/em-
As one of the main protagonists of the energy transition, burners that use hydrogen represent an evolution of traditional combustion systems and allow us to achieve superior energy efficiency with a combustion that eliminates all C02 emissions into the atmosphere. When used together with other fuels, such as natural gas (mixed or multi-fuel burners), it considerably reduces the emission of these greenhouse gases.
District heating and industry decarbonization
Thus, the recently presented prototype hydrogen burner is designed to work only with hydrogen or to operate with a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas for use in district heating installations, for heating buildings and large areas. This last alternative of a mixture of hydrogen and gas is tested by E&M Combustion and is very viable. It consists of a mixture of hydrogen, with 15% -20% natural gas, with which the enriched mixture increases the calorific value and achieves a more stable and efficient combustion. This mixture also makes it possible to improve flame detection, a great challenge with the exclusive use of hydrogen as fuel, due to its characteristics of invisibility to the human eye.
In the hydrogen sector, Spanish engineering company E&M Combustión contributes its technology and experience in the field of industrial combustion and in hydrogen combustion systems, specifically, to which it provides advice, design, manufacture and commissioning of Hydrogen Burners and Hydrogen Combustion Systems in power generation plants and industrial processes, especially in the chemical and petrochemical areas.
The use of hydrogen in industry provides new tools to eliminate CO2, which is largely responsible for climate change. For Iñigo Béjar, CEO of the company “this milestone is a great opportunity for the planet as a whole, and for the improvement of production processes, although it requires the accompaniment of a technological partner and specialized attention to combustion challenges that this new fuel brings with it “.
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This week “The Monty Heat Treat News” explores the heat treatment industry in Portugal. Visits will include these two top notch facilities both of which focus on the booming tool and die industry in the country.
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Industry Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) always does a very good job of summarizing the business climate in North America, this is their October 2021 report; (the full report can be found at IHEA Executive Summary October 2021.pdf)
“October 2021 There is not a lot of good news to focus on these days. Or is there? The headlines have been blaring with all manner of dire warnings and as is usually the case there is far more hype than reality. The three headline issues are obvious enough – inflation at levels not seen since the 1990s, a supply chain that has been near collapse and a severe labor shortage. The fact is that all of these are related and highly predictable once one wades through the hysteria. Let’s start with inflation.
There have been those that are trumpeting idiocies such as claiming imminent hyperinflation or stagflation. These assertions are foolish in the extreme and only serve to obscure the real situation. Hyperinflation is inflation of over 50% per month – not the current rate of 5.0% per year. The hyperinflated economy is in utter collapse and one where money has no value whatsoever. Stagflation is a combination of very high unemployment and high inflation. We have inflation at 5.0% to perhaps 6.0% and a jobless rate of 4.6%. We have neither of these to deal with – we have good old-fashioned inflation driven by the three factors that always drive inflation and this situation presents challenges enough without introducing extremes.
The prime driver for higher prices is a surge in demand for these goods. Coming out of the pandemic there was a surge in demand that nobody was prepared for. The supply chain crisis was a matter of overwhelming a system that had been nearly shut down the previous year. The commodities prices soared and so did everything else connected to them. The good news is that supply driven inflation is short lived as demand fades and supply catches up – in part because of the higher prices. The second driver of inflation is a bit more worrisome as it is based on labor costs. Once these wages go up, they do not come back down easily. The pressure to hike wages to get the labor needed is driving the cost of even unskilled labor up. The final driver is the only one the Fed can react to – money supply. There is simply too much money in the system and that has prevented inflation from doing its job. Usually, the rise in price will serve as a discouragement – people will stop buying as they either can’t or refuse to. They are complaining about the higher prices but they have money and decide to buy anyway. The Fed will try to dry up the surplus that accumulated during the pandemic (over $7 trillion in excess savings worldwide) with higher interest rates, adjusted reserve ratios and other tools.
All this inflation and the supply chain chaos is a bad thing – right? Of course, to an extent that is certainly true as everybody is confronting the higher prices and the shortage of just about everything, but if one considers the reasons we are dealing with this there is most definitely a silver lining to this dark cloud. These are problems of growth. The US economy was barreling along at a 9.5% pace for the early part of Q2 in 2021. That pace slowed to 6.5% by the end of that quarter but that is still over twice as fast as the US economy traditionally grows (around 2.5% per year). These shortages and the congestion are because there has been extraordinary demand – not an actual shortage that can’t be addressed. The producers will catch up and likely within the next six months and that is when the prices start to fall again.
The one issue to be confronted by the producers is the stability of that demand. They are well aware that consumers are rushing to get back to their old habits but they are also aware that these consumers are operating with a lot of that stimulus cash and will not have the same kind of access next year. The oil producers are aware that demand is driving prices up but that demand is very fragile. The gas shortage in Europe is artificial and could vanish overnight. The real demand for oil comes from the US commuter and they have not resumed that pattern as yet. The consumer product demand is based on consumers who still lack access to their former service sector options. The metal producers are not sure when auto production ramps up. You get the drift – lots of unanswered questions that will determine just how aggressive these suppliers will want to be in the coming year.
New Automobile & Light Truck Sales
This story is getting very old and frustrating for just about every sector of the automotive industry. The carmakers are still stalled by the shortage of computer chips and that stalls the tier one, two and three suppliers as well as the car dealers and of course the car buyers. Sales have fallen every month and will continue to tumble until the shortages are alleviated and right now it is anybody’s guess as to when that will be. The major producers of these chips are in full production mode but the capacity is just not there. It is not just the carmakers that need these chips, the entire electronics industry has been seeing stepped up demand and that has simply overwhelmed the ability of the producers. There are other threats emerging through all this. The global vulnerability when it comes to chips has not escaped the notice of the Chinese government. They are well aware that Taiwan remains the largest producer of these chips and the threats that have been directed at the ROC are pointed. China is fully capable of destroying Taiwanese capability in a matter of minutes. The US is now actively trying to lure production back to the US but this is not a simple or swift process.”
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Mr. Laurent Pelissier, CEO of ECM certainly moves in exalted circles. In this photo he is meeting with Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic during the inauguration of the Genvia pilot plant for the production of high-temperature electrolysers. ECM based in Grenoble, France is one of the larger furnace manufacturers in the world and is best known for their vacuum carburizing systems.
We had the privilege of speaking with Laurent during a visit to ECM in 2019, the interview can be found at https://themonty.com/project/l
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Since 1999 “The Monty” has been publishing annually a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America based upon annual sales, our 2021 list can be found at https://themonty.com/articles/50-largest-north-american-commercial-heat-treats-2021-2/ This year readers will see we became much more ambitious and expanded the list to the 50 largest. In our 48th spot we have Akron Steel Treating, Akron, Ohio.
The history of Akron Steel Treating in Akron, Ohio makes for fascinating reading. In 1943, the U.S. army helped Prosper P. Powell convert his garage at 654 Glenwood Avenue in the North Hill area of Akron into a mini-heat treating facility for firing pins. Operating in the secrecy of soaped windows and late-night deliveries, with overflow work conducted in the family’s kitchen oven, Powell launched a successful company. When World War Two was over Prosper asked the US government when they wanted the furnaces back. The answer was “they are yours now” and thus one of the oldest commercial heat treaters in the USA was born. Akron is still a family owned business and offers a very wide variety of heat treating.
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This week’s “The Heat Treat Podcast” features our very charismatic host Mr. Carlos Torres talking with a close friend of “The Monty Heat Treat News” Mr. Kyle Favors. Kyle is located in South Carolina, USA and operates two businesses, Heat Treat Services Unlimited a global field services and accredited testing and calibration laboratory specializing in the thermal processing industry and CF Thermal an independent manufacturers rep firm specializing in the thermal processing industry.
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Cast link belt furnace lines have largely fallen out of favor with most heat treaters around the world, a victim to the many advantages of a mesh belt furnace design. However when it comes to heavy parts there are instances where a cast link belt is the only way to go. In this particular case a fastener manufacturer in Michigan, USA is poised to receive a brand new cast link high temperature furnace from AICHELIN in Austria. The furnace (which weighs 49 tons and is 19 meters long-almost 60 feet) features an investment cast belt, oil quenching and a low temperature temper unit. This photo shows the furnace being loaded on to trucks for shipping.
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Cherry Valley, ILLINOIS (November 15, 2021) – Business levels continue to increase for Ipsen in the second half of 2021, with vacuum furnace orders surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
New equipment orders since the beginning of July have come from customers in ten states across the U.S., as well as four other countries—India, Japan, Mexico and Taiwan. Customers will be using the furnaces for processing a range of products including heat exchangers, jet engine components, fasteners and saw blades. Aerospace customers accounted for the majority of sales, but Ipsen also reports an increase in orders from emerging industries focused on electric vehicle production and additive manufacturing.
Many of these are long-standing customers who continue to purchase Ipsen equipment for the reliable service, quality products and technical expertise. Other customers cite process flexibility, turnkey solutions and adherence to industry standards as reasons for purchasing from Ipsen for the first time.
Ipsen anticipates ending the year strong with even more opportunities for growth in 2022.
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Montreal, November 10, 2021 – Nitrex Metal Inc. (“Nitrex”), provider of fully integrated surface treatment solutions and technologies, is pleased to announce that it has been selected for the “Global Thought Leaders” series broadcast on CBS News. The feature, found here, showcases the company as an industry innovator whose surface treatment solutions enhance the metallurgical properties of components increasing their durability, wear and corrosion resistance while contributing to a more sustainable future.
“We are pleased to be chosen by CBS News to demonstrate how Nitrex’s technologies and innovations make our customers’ products achieve superior quality results,” says Jean-François Cloutier, CEO of Nitrex.
A partner with several global companies in the aerospace, automotive, industrial and renewable energy sectors, Nitrex has been at the forefront of some of the most advanced surface treatment solutions that increasingly meet stringent requirements for close to 40 years. Nitrex’s revolutionary nitriding process, most reliable vacuum furnaces, services centers, proprietary software and controls make Nitrex the only fully integrated solutions provider in the surface treatment industry.
“Our commitment to continuous innovation has allowed us to help our customers bring more value, better performance and greater reliability and predictability to manufactured parts while operating in a greener way,” says Cloutier. “As the manufacturing industry continues to innovate and thrive, Nitrex will continue to help our customers build products that are stronger for longer than others dare to dream.”
Nitrex is a pioneer, being the first company to offer a fully automated software-controlled nitriding/nitrocarburizing system, allowing customers to achieve precise and repeatable quality. In the coming months, Nitrex will be sharing more news about new products and technologies that will change the face of the surface treatment industry and help shape tomorrow for the best.
About Nitrex. NITREX is the lead provider of fully integrated surface treatment solutions and technologies globally. The company was founded in 1984 in Montreal, Canada and operates three business units – Nitrex Turnkey Systems (NTS) a leader of turnkey nitriding, nitrocarburizing, and vacuum heat treat systems; Heat Treating Services (HTS) a worldwide network of commercial heat-treating service centers; and UPC, a leading provider of controls upgrade and automation solutions for surface treatment and combustion. NITREX serves its customers globally from 16 locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Italy, France and China, and sells in over 60 countries through a global network of representatives and licensees.
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This process consists of a fluidized bed system combined with a new bath medium (G4Q®) and a special gas fluidizing atmosphere. The standard operating range of the system is between room temperature and 1050 °C. The process offers extraordinary thermal performance resulting in a very uniform temperature distribution (< ±5 °C) over the entire temperature range – even during heating and quenching. The quenching performance is shown in Figure 1. The corresponding data are from the experimental setup in Figure 2. The Ti64 parts were quenched from 1020 °C to RT and the 100Cr6 parts were quenched from 850 °C to RT.
For many conventional heat treatment applications, the G4Q® process offers the perfect solution – also for additively manufactured metal parts with complex geometry. Due to its thermal properties, this process is also ideally suited for austempering processes. The G4Q® process has all the advantages of a salt bath but avoids its negative environmental effects. At the same time, during the quenching phase, it surpasses the temperature uniformity of any vacuum furnace with high-pressure gas quenching. The treated parts can transform uniformly, minimizing stresses within a component. With the G4Q® process, the two companies PEER Energy and Schwing Technologies aim to set new standards and pave the way for industrial transformation in heat treatment.
