Oxy-Combustion

Oxy-Combustion at a Glance

Combustion results from the reaction of oxygen and combustible molecules like fuel or natural gases. Air is commonly used in most industrial processes as the oxidizing agent.

Oxy-combustion is based on the enrichment of air with pure oxygen to reduce fuel consumption, a decrease that is even more significant if nitrogen is eliminated completely. Oxy-combustion also reduces carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, which are harmful to both humans and the environment.

There are three major ways to enrich air with oxygen:

• Oxygen is added to air before injection into the furnace
• Oxygen is injected directly into the furnace using lances, which generate optimum heat transfers to the molten product in a furnace
• Oxy-fuel burners are used to inject pure oxygen combustion

Our Gas Solutions

Oxy-fuel combustion is an application mainly used in the metallurgy, glass industries and increasingly in businesses under strong carbon constraints, like the cement industry. For all these industries, we deliver competitive oxy-combustion offers, from gas supply to comprehensive solutions.

Our metallurgy offer

Air Liquide is a strategic partner for many large metallurgy companies around the world. Oxygen is needed for numerous applications in this sector, namely in the production of steel, copper, aluminium, nickel and zinc.

When large volumes of gas are consumed, transportation via pipeline offers an alternative to overland shipping and the resulting environmental impact. This represents the most efficient and reliable delivery system for large companies. We deliver tens of thousands of metric tons daily via pipelines to our customers located around the world.

For lower volumes of gas, our packaged offer, BOOSTAL™, is ideal. It includes oxygen, a full range of advanced technologies and burners designed for steel, non-ferrous metals and foundries. Our experts get to the heart of operations on site, allowing them to understand how clients work and where our BOOSTAL™ solutions can enhance performance and help them better respect of the environment.

Our glass industry offer

We partner with glassmakers to deliver tangible and measurable results. They are obtained through engineered solutions, backed by R&D teams and field experts. ALGLASS™ is our comprehensive offer for oxy-combustion in glass making. It covers oxygen delivery, patented burners and further value-added services.