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Home , Daniel Rutherford, Industrial gas, Liquefaction of gases

HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL GASES

Ebbe Almqvist Ebbe Almqvist Consulting Sweden

Springer +Business Media, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Almqvist, Ebbe. History of industrial gaseslby Ebbe Almqvist. p. cm. lncludes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4613-4962-4 ISBN 978-1-4615-0197-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-0197-8 1. Gases-History. 1. Title.

TP242 .A38 2002 665.7'09-dc2l 2002066906

ISBN 978-1-4613-4962-4 ©2oo3 Springer Science+Business Media New York Origina\ly published by Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers. New York in 2003 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 2003 http://www.wkap.nl/

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A c.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress AII rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, ar otherwise, without written pennission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. PREFACE

All history goes to show that the progress of society has invariably been on lines quite different from those laid down in advance, and generally by reasons of inventions and discoveries which few or none had expected. 1. H. Beadle, 1893

The history of industrial gases is a story that starts at the dawn of science and continues to today's huge global , which plays a role in almost every area of life. This book gives an overview of the history of gases, from the ancient theories of mysterious "airs", to the discovery and development of different gases, to their present production and application procedures. Such an understanding is essential for people involved in the industry and should also be of interest for anyone curious about how our environment came to be known, investigated, and developed. The historical development of and business and its impact on society during the last century is treated in particular detail. Current pro• duction, distribution, and applications of gases are based on discoveries and devel• opments in different areas of science and technology. This aspect of the book may be especially valuable for and marketing staff in industrial gas companies and for their customers. The uses of gases range from those of steelworks, which use thousands of tons of per day, to those of semiconductor fabrication plants, which may handle kilogram quantities of high-purity specialty gases. Just as interesting as the applications are the ways in which the gases are man• ufactured. Even to people with some familiarity with industrial gas production methods, it is remarkable that oxygen and in low quantities can be sold for around the price of milk. The present industrial gas business may be divided into the "on-site market", in which gas is made for an individual user and produced on or adjacent to the cus• tomer's operation site and delivered by pipeline for immediate consumption, and the "merchant gases market," the bulk and cylinder business, in which the products are made at a central location and transported in pipelines, tankers, cylinders, and insulated flasks to thousands of applications in many customers' facilities. On-site production of industrial gases is now feasible even for smaller con• sumption due to new production methods. This reduces costs for customers because

v vi Preface

of the reduction of transportation costs. Such plants are owned and run by industrial gas companies and customers do not have to worry about the capital cost of equip• ment or personnel to operate the plant. Today, the on-site market makes up at least 20 percent of the worldwide industrial gas business. It is the fastest growing segment and is expected to continue to expand with a very high growth rate in the next decades. The driving forces for the present growth of the business are: • Environmental protection. The stricter emissions regulations in more and more countries have made environmental protection an especially important issue. Environmental applications and technology have been extremely important since improved processes of or purification of waste air have been developed. Furthermore, environmental in developed countries have forced plants to shift to the substi• tution of oxygen for air. • New geographic areas. Additional opportunities are being afforded due to the industrialization of the developing world, particularly Asia and Latin America, where basic and chemical capacity is being built. • Higher purity, quality, and efficiency in . Greater purity of gas is required in such areas as electronics and special optical manufactur• ing. Quality foods require particularly high product purity. For example, rapid freezing using preserves the fresh taste of shrimp. Food handling, such as transporting, freezing, packaging, and storing, is also a growth area for gases. New and expanding areas for gases include control of the ripening of fruits and high- extraction applications in areas such as fruit juice production and decaffeination of coffee.

Acknowledgements

The compilation of a broad history like this one would not have been possible without assistance from specialists in the different subjects treated. Many colleagues in the major industrial gas companies have influenced, encouraged, and otherwise contributed positively to the writing of this book. Because much company archive material was destroyed during the world wars, there is a lack of much historical evidence of when and how the industrial gas busi• nesS started and developed in different countries (see Chapter 6). I have made every effort to provide the most accurate information available, but the record is not com• plete. I have, however, received much information on how the global business was created through interviews, discussions, and e-mails. Without singling out any individuals, I would like to express my gratitude for their support to all who contributed their time and expertise. I would, however, like to specifically thank my former AGA colleague John Campbell and his staff at JR Campbell & Associates, Lexington, Massachusetts, for helping me turn my original manuscript into a book.

Ebbe Almqvist October 2001 FOREWORD: HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL GASES

This marvelous book tracks the history of industrial gases from some of the very earliest theories of gases by Aristotle, through the observation and discovery of gases by some of the great scientists of the past 500 years, through discovery of oxygen by Scheele and Priestley in the , and further to current and anticipated devel• opments in related gas products, production , market uses and unique applications. A great deal of attention is paid by author Ebbe Almqvist to the major players who have built up this industry which produces and distributes and provides many unique customer services - like supplying , liquid nitrogen, liquid and liquid to NASA's Space Shuttle, and keeping the super sophis• ticated medical diagnostic system, MRI, topped off with . This book has taken Ebbe a decade of painstaking research gathering of some of the little known facts of our industry's development, and working with a large number of people to provide some wonderful drawings and photos of aspects of our industry and its development. This is the very first work of its kind about our industry and provides great background reading for newcomers to our industry and to old hands who continue

vii viii Foreword to wonder how this fascinating business came to be so much a part of all of our lives, in industry, , science and commerce. It is particularly appropriate at this time as several of the major companies which have built this specialized industry are cel• ebrating being at or over the century mark in business.

1. R. Campbell Publisher, Cryogas International CONTENTS

1. History of Gases: Introduction 1 Discoveries in England by Priestley, Black, Cavendish, and Rutherford 1 Sweden and Scheele 2 It All Begins with Ancient Theories and 2 Paracelsus and Hydrogen Gas 3 The Defense of Alchemy 4 What Happened to the Newly Discovered Gases and Their Discoverers? 4 The of Gas 5 References 6 2. From Aristotle to the Birth of Modern 7 2.1. From Aristotle to the Birth of Pneumatic Chemistry 7 Ancient Theories 7 Iatrochemistry 9 The Phlogiston Theory 18 References 19 2.2. The Discovery of Gases and the True of Combustion 19 19 Hydrogen 20 Nitrogen 22 Oxygen 23 Laughing Gas, NzO 25 Hydrogen + Oxygen = Water 26 The Birth of Modern Chemistry 27 References 30 2.3. Biographies of the Early Pioneers in the Study of Gases 30 Paracelsus 30 Johann Baptista van Helmont 31 Otto von Guericke 32

ix x Contents

Robert Hooke 33 Johann Joachim Becher 33 Georg Ernst Stahl 34 Robert Boyle 34 John Mayow 35 Stephen Hales 36 37 Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov 37 Joseph Priestley 38 Carl Wilhelm Scheele 40 Daniel Rutherford 41 Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 42 43 William Ramsay 44 References 45 3. Industrial Gases: Background 47 3.1. Hydrogen: The Gas That Had a Flying Start 47 The Dream of Flight 47 The Discovery of Hydrogen 48 Hydrogen: "Inflammable Air" as 48 Lighter-Than-Air Experiments 49 Methods of Production 52 Hydrogen Airships 55 Twentieth-Century Applications 57 Short Biographies 63 References 63 3.2. Oxygen: "Fire Air" 64 Background 64 The Discovery 64 A New Theory of Combustion 65 Production of Oxygen 65 68 Oxygen Applications: The Use of Oxygen during the Nineteenth Century 71 Medical Applications 74 Modern Applications for Oxygen 75 Short Biographies 81 References 82 3.3. Nitrogen: "Rotten Air" and Its Challenges 82 Background: Nitrogen and Saltpeter in Agriculture 82 Production of 85 Other Industrial Applications for Nitrogen 87 Contents xi

Environmental Problems of Nitrogen 89 The Nitrogen Challenge 90 Short Biographies 92 References 92 3.4. Carbon Dioxide: Spiritus Sylvestre 93 Background: Spiritus Sylvestre 93 Carbon Dioxide: Its Discovery and First Uses 93 : Coca-Cola, Schweppes, Ginger Ale, etc. 94 Liquid Carbon Dioxide 95

Modem CO2 Applications 101 Carbon Dioxide Production 104 Short Biographies 108 References 108 3.5. : The Gas That Triggered the Industrial Gas Business 108 Background 108 The Discovery of the Acetylene Process 109 The Birth of Industrial Acetylene 110 The Introduction of Acetylene in Europe 111 Dissous Gas 112 Early Applications 113 Frank-Caro Process 117 Acetylene Chemistry 117 Short Biographies 122 References 122 3.6. The Noble Gases: An Inactive Family of Great Importance 123 Background 123 Discovery 123 Applications for the Noble Gases 126 Helium Production 128 Other Helium Uses and Markets 131 Liquid Helium 131 Helium Conservation in the United States 134 Short Biographies 134 References 135 4. The Development of Industrial Gas Technology 137 4.1. 137 Early Liquefaction 137 Development of Cryotechnology Up to 1910 140 The Start of Industrial Air Gas Liquefaction 141 Production and Use of Liquefied Gases 145 References 153 xii Contents

4.2. The Path to Absolute Zero. Superconductivity 153 Toward Absolute Zero 153 Superconductivity 156 References 159 4.3. Development of the Production of Air Gas (1910-Ca. 1975) 160 Air Gas Liquefaction and Separation 160 Early Air Gas Applications 161 Further Development of 162 Frankl and Regenerators 164 Collins and the Revex Unit 164 Milton and Molecular Sieves 165 Kapitza and the Expansion Turbine 165 Tonnage Development 165 Noble Gases From Air 166 Short Biography 169 References 169 4.4. Equipment for Distribution and Storage of Gas 170 Background: Distribution of Gases 170 Storage and Transport Tanks for Liquefied Gases 172 References 178 4.5. Production: Alternative Gas Separation Methods 179 Air Gas Separation Methods 179 Pressure-Swing Adsorption 180 Membranes 182 References 185

5. Development of the Industrial Gas Business 187 5.1. Liquid Carbonic 187 Background 187 Market Development 188 Industrial/Medical Gases 192 Short Biography 195 References 197 5.2. Linde AG 198 Background 198 Pure Oxygen and Nitrogen from the Air 198 Market Development 200 International Competition 201 Other Gas Separation Applications 202 Plant Construction 204 Applications 206 International Market Developments 206 Contents xiii

Short Biography 210 References 215 5.3. Messer Griesheim 216 Background: Messer 216 Background: CFGE 220 Formation of Messer Griesheim GmbH 223 References 230 5.4. 230 Background 230 Early Development of Air Liquide 231 International Activities and Subsidiaries 233 Further Developments 235 Air Liquide during and after World War II 235 Gas Technology Developments 236 Developments in Production and Distribution 238 Further Business Developments 239 Short Biography 241 References 247 5.5. AGA 247 Background 247 Early Development 248 The AGA Lighthouse System 249 Market Development 250 A Diversified Company 253 Concentration on the Marketing of Gases 254 Back to Basics 256 Short Biography 257 References 260 5.6. British Oxygen 260 Background 260 BOC Formed 262 Market Development 262 Product Development 263 Competition from Air Products 266 Cryogenic Application Development by BOC 267 Geographic Expansion 267 References 270 5.7. 270 Background 270 Early Development 272 Linde Air Products Becomes Part of Union Carbide Corporation 273 xiv Contents

Success and Catastrophe 278 Applications Development 278 Market Developments and Acquisitions 280 References 282 5.8. Nippon Sanso 283 Background 283 Production Plant Development 284 Market Development 285 International Expansion 288 References 290 5.9. Air Products 290 Background 290 Early Development 291 Plant Development 293 Market Development 295 Applications Development 297 Short Biography 300 References 302 6. Expansion of the Industrial Gas Business 303 6.1. Introduction: Origin of the Industrial Gas Business in Western Europe 303 6.2. Eastern and Central Europe 305 Background: Prehistory of Industrial Gases 305 Development in Different Countries 307 6.3. North America 312 United States 312 Canada 316 References 318 6.4. South and Central America 318 Background 318 AGA along the Coast 320 Other Early Players 320 6.5. Asia 320 Gas Markets in Asia 320 Japan and China 321 Main Industrial Gas Companies in Other Far East Countries ca. 1990 328 Central Asia 329 Middle East 329 References 330 6.6. Australia 331 The Start of the Industrial Gases Business in Australia 331 Contents xv

Oxygen 331 Acetylene 333 335 References 336 6.7. Africa 336 Northern and Central Africa 336 South Africa 336 References 338 6.8. The Development of the Modern Industrial Gas Business 338 The Industrial Gas Market: Background 338 Business Overview since the 1960s 339 References 342

7. How New Gas Applications were Developed 343 7.1. Biology and Medicine 343 Background to the Medical Use of Gases 343

N20: "Laughing Gas" 344 Breathing Aids and Treatment of Narcosis 348 Cryobiology and Cryomedicine 348 Treatment with Liquid Nitrogen 352 Diving Applications: Deep-Sea Diving 353 References 356 7.2. Welding and Cutting 357 Prehistory: The Historical Beginning of Welding and Cutting 357 The Industrial Beginning of Welding and Cutting 357 Oxy-Fuel Cutting and Welding 359 Development of Welding in the United States 367 Mechanization and Automation of Welding and Cutting 372 Welding with a Gas Shield 373 Arc Welding Processes 375 Gouging and Scarfing 377 High-Energy-Beam Methods 377 References 381 7.3. and Combustion 382 Background 382 Early History 382 Modern Steelmaking Processes 386 Hydrogen and Nitrogen in Steel 392 Heat Treatment 392 References 395 7.4. Chemistry and the Environment 395 Chemical Processes 395 xvi Contents

Waste Treatment 396 398 References 402 7.5. Energy and Fuel 402 402 LNG and Helium Recovery 404 Hydrogen as Aircraft and Car Fuel and as General Power Source 407 Rocket 408 Rockets for Satellites 411 Short Biographies 413 References 416 7.6. Inerting and Cooling 417 Background 417 Inerting Applications 417 Liquid Nitrogen Applications 422 References 429 7.7. Specialty Gases. High-Purity Gases 430 Background 430 Noble Gases 430 Gas 431 High-Purity Gases 434 Semiconductors 435 Reactive Gases 436 Gas Analysis 438 References 439 Figure References 441 Institutional Index 447 Name Index 455 Subject Index 463

Short Stories 3.1. The Zeppelin Story 61 3.2. Drebbel's Submarine 78 The Lunar Society 78 3.3. Nitrogen as a for Gun Powder 90 3.4. Baths and Cures 105 Greenhouse Effect 106 3.5. Aluminum Manufacture and Its Impact on Acetylene Production 119 Contents xvii

The First Industrial Production of Calcium Carbide and Dissolved Acetylene 120 4.1. A Success Story that Ended in a Personal Disaster 149 The Liquid Helium Race 151 Cryoliquids 152 7.1. The Pneumatic Institute of Bristol 354 7.2. The First Uses of Oxygen Cutting 380

Institutional Index 447

Name Index 455

SUbject Index 463