Making contact Delivery programme Messer. Gases for Life. and locations 2012 Messer Group GmbH Messer-Platz 1 65812 Bad Soden Phone +49 6196 7760 0 Fax +49 6196 7760 442 [email protected] www.messergroup.com Status: 2012 Messer Group GmbH Gases for Life: Industrial gases play an important role in everyday matters. It is impossible to imagine doing without them in most aspects of our lives because in many industrial production processes gases are as impor- tant as water and electricity. They are visible as fizz- ing bubbles in drinks – but in many products they Would you like to find out more are hidden. Potato chips packed under a controlled about the variety and uses of atmosphere, xenon headlights and krypton torches gases in our daily lives? Then show them clearly – but gases are also used, for visit our new website at instance, in producing paper, ice cream, wind tur- bines, cars and airbags, tiles and ceramics, and www.GasesforLife.de water standpipes. Would you like to find out more about the variety and uses of gases in our daily lives? Then visit our new website at www.gasesforlife.de. There you will learn how nitrogen cools concrete, endowing it with greater stability, how liquid carbon dioxide makes foam materials even more comforta- ble, and why gases in lamps help them operate longer. But applications such as the natural treat- ment of potable water with oxygen or the recycling of plastics using cryogenic nitrogen also show how important gases are for our lives. 3 Messer Group GmbH The company 1898 Adolf Messer found Frankfurter Acetylen-Gas- Messer is one of the leading industrial gas compa- Gesellschaft, Höchst am Main/Frankfurt, Germany. nies, and is active in over 30 countries in Europe and Asia, as well as Peru and New Zealand with 1910 over 60 operating companies. The international acti- First air separation plant vities are managed from Frankfurt am Main, whilst 1911 management of core technical functions – logistics, 1932 Move into US market engineering, production and application technology Production of arc welding electrodes – is undertaken from Krefeld. 1946 Expansion in Europe and the USA From acetylene to xenon, the Messer Group has one of the most diverse product portfolios on the 1953 market – the company produces industrial gases Dr. Hans Messer assumes control. such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium, shielding gases for welding, 1965 specialty gases, medical gases and many different 1966 Merger with Knapsack-Griesheim AG (Hoechst) gas mixtures. Further expansion in Western Europe to form Messer Griesheim GmbH and the USA The Messer Group has state-of-the-art research and 1989 competence centers in which it develops applied 1995 Expansion in Eastern Europe – two billion technologies for the use of gases in almost every Globalisation strategy pursued deutschmark turnover mark reached sector of industry, in food technology, medicine as well as research and science. 1998 Stefan Messer becomes member of Executive Board. 1999 Sale of Cutting and Welding Division 2001 (MEC Group) to the Messer family 2004 Takeover of Hoechst shares by investment funds Buyback of all shares by the Messer family 2005 after sale of Messer in Germany, UK and USA. Stefan Messer becomes CEO. Buyback of all the MEC Group’s shares 2008 by the Messer family 2009 Launch of Messer Industriegase GmbH in Germany Start-up of seven new air separation units 2010 in Europe. Expansion in China 2011 Start-up of two air separation units in Europe, one in Vietnam and three in China Move to a joint group head office Bad Soden 4 5 Products Our program „for a successful atmosphere” From acetylene to xenon, the Messer Group offers you much more than gases which meet your needs. Our expertise in application technology is both comprehensive and specialised, and therefore provides the key to the optimisation of processes in terms of quality, economy and innovation. Your company will profit as a result, no matter what sector you work in: whether transport, food, chemical, petrochemical, metallurgy, environmental technology, electronics, medicine, industrial or welding technology. The same applies to the various delivery methods: from cylinders to road or rail tankers through to pipelines or on-site facilities. Together, we will find the solution that best fits your individual gas requirements. Whether liquefied or gaseous, we will supply the gas products you need in their exact volume and quality. Of course, our portfolio also includes the ideal hard- ware for using our products in the most effective way. Let our expertise make your company more successful! 6 7 Products Separating air to produce gases. means of internal heat exchange, in which Oxygen supply What is air? And what is air separation? the flows of cold gas generated during the Air is a mixture of gases, consisting primarily Air can be separated into its components by Purity of nitrogen (78 %), oxygen (21 %) and the means of distillation in special units. So-called air process cool the compressed air. Rapid 100 % Liquid gas supply Cryogenic air inert gas argon (0.9 %). The remaining 0.1 % fractionating plants employ a thermal process reduction of the pressure then causes the 99 % separation units is made up mostly of carbon dioxide and the known as cryogenic rectification to separate the compressed air to cool further, whereby it inert gases neon, helium, krypton and xenon. individual components from one another in order undergoes partial liquefaction. Now the air is Cylinders to produce high-purity nitrogen, oxygen and argon ready for the separating column, where the and in liquid and gaseous form. bundles actual separation takes place. 93 % VPSA/VSA units Separation of air Separation of air into pure oxygen and pure nitrogen is performed in two columns, the medium-pressure and the low- 90 % pressure columns. The difference in boiling 1 10 100 1.000 10.000 m3/h point of the constituents is exploited for the separation process. Oxygen becomes a liquid at -183 °C and nitrogen at -196 °C. The continuous evaporation and condensation brought about by the intense exchange of matter and heat between the rising steam Nitrogen supply and the descending liquid produces pure nitrogen at the top of the low-pressure Purity 100 % column and pure oxygen at the bottom. Liquid gas supply Cryogenic air separation units Argon is separated in additional columns and Cylinders 99,9 % involves some extra steps in the process. and PSA units bundles 99 % Withdrawal and storage Membrane units Gaseous oxygen and nitrogen are fed into pipelines for transport to users, Oxygen Nitrogen Argon e.g. steelworks. In liquid form, oxygen, nitrogen and argon are stored in tanks and transported to customers by tanker lorries. 90 % Compression of air Purification of air 1 10 100 1.000 10.000 m3/h Ambient air is drawn in, filtered and Impurities such as water vapour and compressed to approx. 6 bar by a compressor. carbon dioxide are then removed from the air in a so-called molecular sieve. Precooling of air Cooling of air To separate air into its components, Because the gases which make up air it must first be liquefied at an extremely low only liquefy at very low temperatures, the puri- temperature. As a first step, the compressed fied air in the main heat exchanger is cooled to air is precooled with chilled water. approx. -175 °C. The cooling is achieved by 8 9 Products Pipeline gases Gases in road tankers and storage tanks In integrated industrial areas with a large number of bulk customers, for example in steel production The most economically effective way to supply or in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, “medium” volumes is to transport and store them gases such as oxygen or nitrogen can be supplied as cryogenic liquid and compressed gases in road centrally via a system of pipelines engineered and tankers. We provide our products in insulated managed by Messer. storage containers with vaporizers or in pressure vessels on your site. Argon Oxicut Grieson Oxygen On-site Helium Nitrogen Carbon dioxide Hydrogen If it is not possible to connect a bulk customer to Nitrocut a pipeline system, a production unit will be built on-site, which in many cases is operated remotely. Air separation units for: Technical gases in cylinders Oxygen Nitrogen Cylinders or bundles are ideal for supplying Argon smaller volumes of gases, especially for welding technology*. Cryogenic generators for: Oxygen Argon Nitrogen Argon mixtures Carbon dioxide Membrane units for: Oxygen Nitrogen Nitrogen *Inert welding gases: Synthetic air PSA units for: etc. Ferroline – Inert welding gas for Oxygen ordinary and low-alloy steel Nitrogen Megalas – operating gas for lasers Inoxline – Inert welding gas for VPSA/VSA units for: Fuel gases such as: high-alloy steel Oxygen Acetylene Butane Aluline – Inert welding gas for Steam reformers for: Natural gas aluminium and non-ferrous metal Hydrogen MAPP Propane Forming gas – Root protection for With on-site facilities it is possible to extract dry Propellant according to DIN 51622 high-alloy and some low-alloy steel compressed air. Hydrogen 10 11 Products Specialty gases Hydrocarbons: Acetylene Butane Messer offers an extensive range of high purity Ethylene gases, standard mixtures and custom-made gas Methane mixtures in any technically possible combination. We Propane supply various specialty gases in volumes ranging Propylene from pressure cans to 300 bar cylinder bundles. etc. Liquid helium (in dewars or tank containers) Inorganic gases: Ammonia Food gases: High purity gases: Chlorine All of Messer’s pure gases and gas Argon up to 6.0 Hydrogen chloride mixtures used in the food industry Helium up to 6.0 Refrigerants are named Gourmet. The gases Carbon dioxide up to 5.5 Nitrogen oxide satisfy the highest quality standards Oxygen up to 5.5 Sulphur dioxide and are permitted by the European Nitrogen up to 6.0 Sulphur hexafluoride Union for food applications.