The closed-circuit degassing of liquid aluminum by argon

This concept for the recycling of argon gas for degassing liquid aluminum upon the removal of hydrogen promises significant savings and only limited expense for system construction and maintenance. The size chosen for the system is somewhat arbitrary because the necessary control functions respond to an in-line sensor. The recycling of argon also promises a savings in fuel costs. Any unforeseen malfunction of the unit would not interfere with the degassing operation. Preliminary experiments show that a commercial catalyst can readily achieve the required reaction rates, and the optimization of bed temperatures has been studied. if future funding became available, a complete (two-column) model of the system with the associated valves, relays, etc., could be built to test the durability of one or more catalysts to repeated cycling. Otherwise, the system seems to be suited for commercial development and adoption. A companion innovation for the closedloop degassing/fluxing of nitrogen-chlorine represents a potentially complementary process for the treatment of liquid metal baths.