Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
25d97a88-8682-44df-aaba-401b3a1db2cb
Materials
Associated ID
b49f39ef-cf8b-4fb7-b177-d60bd26b444d
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
Argon can be used as a protective gas widely in fields such as metal welding, semiconductor manufacturing and bulb filling, as well as for cryogenic refrigeration, gas chromatography analysis and as an inert-environment carrier; Argon is modelled as a pure substance; when modelling this substance, the user is required to add a solvent of their choice in the model.
Activity Description
Argon is produced primarily as a by-product in cryogenic air separation production, while liquid oxygen is the reference product; the argon is then emitted directly into the atmosphere or converted into a marketable product for sale.
Process Description
The chemical formula of argon is Ar, CAS number 7440-37-1. It is a colorless, odorless and tasteless inert gas under normal temperature and pressure. Its liquid form is a colorless and transparent liquid. The boiling point under standard atmospheric pressure is -185.9°C, the critical temperature is 150.8K, and the density is about 1.40g/cm3 (at -185.9°C). It is extremely difficult to dissolve in water and is much denser than air. It is the most abundant rare gas in the air. It is extremely inactive in chemical properties and generally does not react chemically with other substances. It can only form a few compounds under special conditions. It is mainly used as protective gas in industry, such as metal welding, semiconductor manufacturing, and light bulb filling; it is also used in low-temperature refrigeration, gas chromatography analysis, and can be used as an inert environmental carrier in scientific research fields.
Time period
2021
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
Cryogenic air separation is the absolute mainstream technology for large-scale production of liquid industrial gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, etc.). It has high technological maturity and stable product purity. It accounts for more than 95% of the domestic liquid industrial gas market and is the core technology path for industrial gas supply. This data set represents this mainstream technology: the air enters the compressor after being filtered, is cooled by the pre-cooling system, and then enters the fractionation tower through the purification system to obtain liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and crude argon respectively; liquid oxygen is used as a reference product, and argon is directly discharged into the atmosphere or converted into marketable products for sale.