A U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer is expanding its heat treat capabilities for bearing components with the addition of vacuum heat treatment processes, including high-pressure gas quenching and low-pressure carburizing. The move supports increasing production capacity, process quality, and operational flexibility.
Image Credit: SECO/WARWICK
SECO/WARWICK has supplied a Vector vacuum furnace equipped with a 15-bar absolute high-pressure gas quenching system that has been customized to meet the client’s requirements by integrating the low-pressure carburizing (LPC) option. With a working zone of 900 mm x 900 mm x 1200 mm (36 in x 36 in x 48 in), the system is designed to process large loads, including parts with critical dimensions, while maintaining cleanliness and parameter repeatability.
The furnace configuration includes a cylindrical heating chamber that ensures temperature uniformity of ±5°C (±10°F). A convection heating system improves heat transfer at lower temperatures, while directional gas quenching enables better process control for components with more complex geometries.
Operating under vacuum conditions, the system helps limit sublimation of alloying elements from the load surface, while the gas quenching system provides a maximum quenching pressure of up to 15 bar abs. It is complemented by the LPC option, enabling precise surface hardening within a single, integrated technological cycle.
Maciej Korecki Vice President of the Vacuum Segment SECO/WARWICK Group
“In this project, the [client] was looking for a solution that would combine a large working area, a short delivery time, and an excellent price-to-performance ratio. Vector meets these expectations, and thanks to the LPC option and advanced quench control, it gives users great flexibility in processing a wide range of components,” emphasizes Maciej Korecki, vice president of the Vacuum Segment at the SECO/WARWICK Group.
The installation enhances the manufacturer’s ability to meet stringent aerospace requirements while increasing throughput for heat treated bearing components used in demanding operating environments.
Press release is available in its original form here.
When carbon-footprint assessment happens during material selection for CAE simulations and product design, the result is more informed and sustainable decisions.In this Technical Tuesday installment, Mariagrazia Vottari, chief technical officer at Total Materia AG, shows how informed material choices can identify lower-impact alternatives without compromising structural, mechanical, or physical requirements.
This informative piece was first released in Heat Treat Today’sMay 2026 Sustainable Heat Treat Technologies print edition.
Introduction
Governments and industries worldwide are setting increasingly ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and strengthen environmental responsibility across supply chains. New sustainability frameworks, mandatory reporting requirements, and carbon-pricing mechanisms are accelerating the shift toward low-carbon production, including stricter expectations for transparent environmental data and lifecycle assessments.
Consequently, global supply chains must adapt quickly, integrating sustainability considerations from the earliest stages of product design through manufacturing, distribution, and end-of-life management. Environmental performance, traceability, and responsible material selection are becoming essential elements of modern engineering and product-development strategies.
Materials themselves represent a major share of global GHG emissions, increasing from 5 to 11 global net anthropogenic GHG emissions (GtCO₂-eq) between 1995 and 2015, and rising from 15% to 23% of global totals. For most products, materials dominate the carbon footprint until manufacturing is complete.
Accurate material selection in early product design and CAE (computer aided engineering) simulations is critical. Beyond traditional factors, such as mechanical performance and cost, engineers must now consider carbon footprint, environmental impact, lightweighting, regulatory compliance, and supply chain optimization to reduce overall emissions.
Therefore, sustainable product design will incorporate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of materials using selected indicator(s) providing environmental impact to materials selection. For example, in the automotive industry, ranking (c) is often calculated as c = 0.4 × mass + 0.2 × cost + 0.4 × CF.
Other more complex decision-making models for materials selection have been proposed. This exemplifies the need for reliable and simplified calculation of carbon footprint (CF) value for thousands of diversified structural materials, from carbon and stainless steel to special alloys, nonferrous metals, and polymers, considering their manufacturing routes, processing, finish, and transport. A full LCA study is demanding in terms of both data collection efforts and user expertise requirements, while streamlined LCA often uses generic data related to the materials production, energy used for their processing, and transportation. Typically, streamlined LCA uses only a fraction of the inputs to estimate carbon footprint compared to the full LCA inventory. This article presents recent developments designed to help engineers in the CAE simulation field to cope with these challenges.
Streamlined LCA Methodology
Figure 1. LCIA assessment approach | Image Credit: Total Materia
There are numerous simplification approaches in LCA; the following describes the approach that combines the composition of alloys with carbon footprint values of base metal and alloying elements production. The LCA tool described in the current study (Figure 1) can cover a variety of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys due to the use of:
Chemical compositions from a large database containing structural material properties, which comprises more than 500,000 materials; and
Country, manufacturing route, processing, and transport-specific life cycle inventory (LCI) collected from Ecoinvent v3.10, along with relevant data from scientific articles.
Goal, Scope, Functional Unit and System Boundaries
The aim of this LCA is to quantify the impact of steel and various non-ferrous alloys (Al, Cu, Mg, Ni, and Ti based) according to ISO 14040 standards, analyzing the influence of the composition on the carbon footprint.
The functional unit has been defined as 1 kg of produced material, considering the country of manufacturing and processing as well as transport to the buyer’s gate.
The scope of this study is to estimate the environmental impact of the production and the transport of materials (cradle to gate), accounting for raw materials extraction, manufacturing, and processing.
Inventory Data and Impact Category
Ecoinvent’s Life Cycle Inventory Assessment (LCIA) datasets were used where possible, including:
Base metals
Alloying elements, utilized in the manufacturing calculation through chemical composition weighting
Processing, quantified in kg CO₂-eq per kg of material, per kg of removed material, or per m², varying with the type of processing
The energy mix, allowing country-specific calculation
Transport, covering a wide range of routes
Calculations are based on the cut-off system model, the IPCC 2021 no LT LCIA method, and the climate change Global Warming Potential (GWP100) indicator.
Additional sources were used from scientific literature for data not available in Ecoinvent. The calculation scope expanded with:
Scrap content adjustment manufacturing contributions from various countries/regions
Contributions from different manufacturing routes
Various processes in different countries/regions
For intensive electricity-consuming processes, such as hot rolling, cold rolling, and stamping, electricity consumption data (measured in MJ/kg or kWh/kg) has been collected. This data, combined with the energy mix information from Ecoinvent, contributes to the final calculation.
Figure 2. System boundaries | Image Credit: Total Materia
The final CO₂-eq score is the cumulative sum of contributions from material production (manufacturing), processing, and transport as shown in Figure 2, illustrating the system boundaries considered in the study.
Analysis CF Results
In this work, six different alloys that are commonly used have been selected for the carbon footprint analysis. The chemical composition of alloys is defined by specific standard, while details on studied alloys production are presented in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Result of CF calculation for selected alloys | Image Credit: Total Materia
After specifying details on manufacturing (country, method, and recycled content), processing (country and processing applied), and transport (type and distance), the values of carbon footprint are determined for each alloy (Figure 3), providing the contribution of each stage of analysis.
The lowest environmental impact of all studied alloys was steel 1.4301 with a value of 2.5 kg CO₂-eq/kg. This is because a manufacturing route for the 1.4301 alloy was EAF (electric arc furnace) with 100% recycled content, where electricity is used to melt scrap steel and produce new steel, in contrast to BF-BOF (blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace) where extraction of iron ore is needed and relies heavily on coal or coke as a fuel source for the blast furnace, which emits significant amounts of CO₂ during combustion. Although numerous factors or variables play a role in determining the environmental impacts of metal production, one of the most significant parameters is recycled content.
Titanium alloy has the highest environmental impact of all studied alloys, emitting up to 47.3 kg CO₂-eq/kg of material. Ti-6Al-4V alloy was selected for this study even though it is very expensive and has a high energy consumption of production in the long and demanding Kroll process, because it is one of the most popular joint implant materials due to its biocompatibility, low density, and strength.
Although Al, Cu, and Fe-Ni-based alloys have similar CF values (4.7 to 8 kg CO₂-eq/kg), in the case of aluminum and copper alloys, the most significant contribution comes from the processing of those alloys (52 to 68%), unlike Incoloy in which processing contributes a modest 0.72%. The CF value for Incoloy 800 is three times greater than 1.4301 alloy. The high environmental impact of Incoloy 800 is mainly caused by nickel content (max. 10% in 1.4301 alloy, while max. 35% in Incoloy 800) and very high carbon footprint values for nickel itself. This is proof of why chemical composition cannot be neglected.
The effect of transportation is very small, only contributing up to 3.6% for selected transport parameters. However, it can have much higher relative contribution for low-impact alloys, especially over long distances. In Figure 4, the effect of different transport types shows that the selection of air transport can double the carbon footprint value of the material compared to sea transport (for the same manufacturing and processing parameters).
Figure 4. Effect of different transport types | Image Credit: Total MateriaFigure 5. Detailed contribution analysis for 1.4301 steel | Image Credit: Total Materia
Further contribution analysis can be made for each alloy given the detailed contribution for manufacturing and each processing step, as well as transportation type, as shown in Figure 5 for the 1.4301 steel. Results show that deep drawing increases carbon footprint with a factor of 5 in comparison with hot rolling. This suggests that such processes should be performed on locations having energy supplied from renewable sources.
Material Selection, Looking for a Greener Alternative
Besides identifying more environmentally sustainable manufacturing processes such as alternative production routes, higher scrap content, different locations, processing with lower energy demand, and greener transportation options, another approach to reducing the carbon footprint is to identify alternative materials with different chemical compositions but similar mechanical and physical properties.
Although the selection of alternative materials must consider various factors related to the availability, supply chain, etc., from the environmental point of view, the decision can be facilitated by using a proper cross-reference system that simultaneously suggests alternatives based on various criteria. There are two scenarios for material selection:
In the early design phase when the material is still not selected and when certain mechanical, physical, compliance and sustainability requirements should be fulfilled.
When a certain material already in use should be replaced with a greener alternative but maintain the same characteristics.
In the first case, material-selection tools like the Total Materia Optimizer can be used to support engineers in comparing and ranking materials based on multiple technical and regulatory criteria. This tool can evaluate thousands of potential candidates simultaneously and filter them according to user-defined parameters, such as mechanical performance, chemical composition, cost, regulatory status, or regional availability as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Results of multicriteria search | Image Credit: Total MateriaFigure 7. Alternatives to 1.4301 steel based on cross references | Image Credit: Total Materia
In the second case, when the material is already in use, finding an alternative material with a lower CF value is possible in a material-selection tool’s carbon footprint module through the cross-reference option. The system offers alternatives based on various criteria. As an example for this case, 1.4301 alloy is used with all set-up parameters from Figures 4 and 6 (with CF value of 2.528 kg CO₂-eq/kg). The analysis shown in Figure 7 suggests 921 alternative materials ordered by CF value in ascending order. In this view, a user can add additional columns with mechanical and physical properties to ensure that the material also fulfills the required characteristics. In this example, material NSSC 2120 meets the required mechanical and physical criteria, and the CF value is reduced from 2.5 to 2.2 kg CO₂-eq/kg (which is a reduction of 12%) compared to the initially selected material 1.4301.
Conclusions
This approach for assessing the environmental impact of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys based on material composition and processing routes has been illustrated through a carbon footprint evaluation. It enables engineers to compare materials not only by cost and performance but also by their carbon intensity, supporting more informed and sustainable selection decisions. The method also helps identify greener manufacturing options, such as alternative routes, higher recycled content, lower-energy processing, or reduced-impact transport, early in product design while maintaining quality and performance.
Future improvements include expanding datasets to cover additional processing steps, incorporating more specific manufacturing routes — especially for non-ferrous alloys — and increasing regional coverage to reflect local energy mixes. These enhancements will further refine emission factors and improve the accuracy of carbon-footprint assessments.
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About The Author:
Mariagrazia Vottari Chief Technical Officer Total Materia AG
Mariagrazia Vottari is the chief technical officer at Total Materia AG, leading the Engineering Department and overseeing data content development and material intelligence initiatives. She has a background in mechanical engineering and nearly 20 years of experience in the industry, with a strong focus on materials engineering, data processing, and digital solutions for the manufacturing industry.
Heat Treat Today has gathered the four heat treat industry-specific economic indicators for May 2026. The results reinforce a continued growth outlook from the April 2026 predictions, with all four indices remaining above the growth threshold.
May’s data points to anticipated continued growth across the heat treat industry at a more measured pace than the stronger gains forecast in April. Inquiries are projected to remain steady at 63.0 (unchanged from April). Bookings are expected to remain firmly in growth territory at 57.5 (from 62.0 in April). The Backlog index forecasts healthy workloads at 60.7 (from 66.3 in April). Meanwhile, the Health of the Manufacturing Economy index signals continued optimism at 57.1 (from 62.5 in April).
May’s indicators suggest suppliers anticipate a stable operating environment heading into late spring and early summer production cycles. While several indices moderated from April’s stronger projections, all four metrics continue to reflect expected expansion rather than contraction — pointing to sustained activity across aerospace, automotive, energy, and general manufacturing markets.
The results from this month’s survey (May) are as follows: numbers above 50 indicate growth, numbers below 50 indicate contraction, and the number 50 indicates no change:
Anticipated change in Number of Inquiries from April to May: 63.0
Anticipated change in Value of Bookings from April to May: 57.5
Anticipated change in Size of Backlog from April to May: 60.7
Anticipated change in Health of the Manufacturing Economy from April to May: 57.1
Data for May 2026
The four index numbers are reported monthly by Heat Treat Today and made available on the website.
Heat TreatToday’sEconomic Indicatorsmeasure and report on four heat treat industry indices. Each month, approximately 800 individuals who classify themselves as suppliers to the North American heat treat industry receive the survey. Above are the results. Data collection began in June 2023. If you would like to participate in the monthly survey, please click here to subscribe.
Andis Company, a U.S.-based manufacturer of grooming tools, has completed a controls upgrade on a vacuum heat treat furnace used for hardening components. The upgrade supports continued operation of a system critical to its production.
Andis Company finalized a PLC system overhaul on its ECM FLEX vacuum furnace, transitioning from an aging S7-300 processor and Profibus network to a newer S7-1500 series processor with Profinet communication. The upgrade also included remote input/output integration across the system. ECM USA supported the project planning and on-site execution, with the work completed on schedule and with minimal disruption to production.
The three-cell hardening modular furnace operates at approximately 950°C (1724°F) and includes a 20-bar gas quench, along with loading/unloading automation. Installed roughly 15 years ago to replace molten salt baths, the system supports clean heat treatment to avoid part discoloration and reduce the need for post-heat treat cleaning. The furnace remains central to Andis’s Wisconsin operations.
Tom Hoffelder Director of Manufacturing Support and Innovation Andis Company
The upgrade was initiated in 2025 following end-of-support announcements for legacy controls. “In 2025, we determined that we needed to fully replace the CPUs in our ECM vacuum heat treat system after Siemens announced end-of-support for significant portions of the controls,” said Tom Hoffelder, director of manufacturing support and innovation at Andis Company. “Because reliable day-to-day operation of our heat treat system is critical to our business, we worked closely [with ECM] to define the project scope and map out the execution plan.”
The project focused on modernizing hardware, improving long-term reliability, and maintaining throughput during installation. The updated controls and HMI remained familiar to operators, allowing the system to return to full production without additional training, Hoffelder added.
Press release is available in its original form here.
Welcome toHeat Treat Today’sThis Week in Heat TreatSocial Media. From cutting-edge AM to captivating metal artistry — and even a little big-league baseball energy — heat treat social media had a little bit of everything! We scrolled, watched, learned, and smiled our way through posts that remind us why this industry is equal parts science, craft, and creativity.
As you know, there is so much content available on the web that it’s next to impossible to sift through all of the articles and posts that flood our inboxes and notifications on a daily basis. So, Heat Treat Today is here to bring you the latest in compelling, inspiring, and entertaining heat treat news from the different social media venues that you’ve just got to see and read!If you have content that everyone has to see, please send the link to editor@heattreattoday.com.
1. Additive Edge, Up Close
Additive manufacturing in action, this post highlights how cutting-edge tech is reshaping how complex metal parts come to life.
2. 15 Bar? No Sweat!
SECO/TALKS takes on the “15 bar sounds terrifying” reaction head-on, showing how modern vacuum furnace engineering keeps extreme pressure firmly under control.
3. Metal Masterpiece
From raw metal to lifelike portraits, layered wire mesh transforms into striking art — proof that even industrial materials have a creative side.
This side-by-side look at amorphous versus crystalline structures plays out like atomic-level order versus chaos — same material, totally different story.
6. May the 4th Be Metallurgical
Bodycote celebrates Star Wars Day with a deep dive into fictional metals like beskar…because apparently, even galaxies far, far away need good materials engineering.
7. HTT Made it to the Big Leagues
Heat TreatToday lights up the big screen in Wrigley Field in true big-league fashion.
8. Bathroom Break, Metallurgy Edition
This reel turns a steel surface phenomenon into something oddly mesmerizing. Who knew that even mill scale can have a little wow factor?
The latest episode of Heat TreatRadio maps out the must-attend events — from THERMPROCESS to FNA — helping heat treaters decide where to learn, connect, and stay competitive.
10. Sleeves Up, Giving Back
Advanced Heat Treat Corp. steps off the shop floor and into the community, rolling up their sleeves for hands-on volunteer work during National Volunteer Month.
Whether it’s giving back to the community, steel surface phenomenon in unexpected places, or metallurgy-inspired Star Wars debates, there’s always something fascinating heating up on social media. Have a great weekend!
Heat Treat Today publishes twelve print magazines annually and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter from the April 2026 Annual Induction Heating & Melting print edition highlights three hallmarks common to thriving companies — prioritizing people over technology, people over profit, and a relentless commitment to continuous improvement — drawing on a visit to Induction Tooling in North Royalton, Ohio, as a real-world example of these principles in action.
Michele Schaller, one of Heat TreatToday’s excellent editors (we have three excellent editors), and I recently visited Induction Tooling in North Royalton, Ohio, near Cleveland, to talk with Bill and Sherry Stuehr regarding their company’s 50th anniversary. I make it a point never to promote one company over and above other companies in this column because 1) our mission is to get good information to our readers as objectively as possible without showing preference to any one company, and 2) it would be bad business.
Meeting with the Stuehrs, however, did allow me to meditate a bit on what makes a company a good company…of which there are many in this industry. If a company is successful, the following will undoubtedly be true about that company.
1. People Over Technology
It is almost certain that the most successful companies prioritize people, both clients and employees, ahead of their technology or product offering. This may sound like heresy to some, but I’m convinced that it is true — as counterintuitive as it may appear. Ultimate business success is dependent on finding and keeping the right people employed and finding and keeping clients.
Finding and keeping competent employees is one of the most difficult business challenges in today’s world. Manual labor is not seen as something desirable. In fact, as Bill Stuehr said during our recent visit with him, “Industrial Arts” is not a thing at institutions of higher learning anymore. When Bill said those words, “Industrial Arts,” it was the first time our 30-something-year-old editor, Michele, had ever heard the words. This is telling. Kids just aren’t being educated or encouraged to go into industrial vocations. That makes finding and keeping them all the more important.
And while having a technology, product, or service that meets the client’s needs is critical to success, it is not the most important thing. Having an organization that remembers that “clients are people too” and treats them with respect and dignity is even more important in the success of a company.
Induction Tooling lives out this trait quite well, and it is Heat Treat Today’s desire to do the same. I frequently remind our team that while we are an industrial trade publication, we are first and foremost helping people and hopefully making them happy as our “Why Statement” asserts: We believe people are happier and make better decisions when they are well informed.
The bottom line is successful companies understand that they can have the best technology, product, or service in the world, but if they are not prioritizing their people — employees, vendors, and clients — they will ultimately fail.
2. People Over Money
As with technology, money (i.e. profits) should not be sitting in the driver’s seat either. Profits are important. Profits are good (more about this in my Publisher’s Page from the Aerospace Heat Treating, March 2025 edition). But truly successful companies will regularly sacrifice profits to please their employees and/or clients. A previous employer of mine became a “spreadsheet” company as opposed to a “people” company and has suffered because of it. Companies who are willing to sacrifice profits to keep their clients or their employees happy have a vastly better chance of being a successful company.
3. Better & Better
The final characteristic that seems to be common among successful companies is the desire to advance and never be content. Lethargy and complacency are the enemies of success. You are either growing or dying; there is no neutral. Treating clients better, providing a better service, doing things more efficiently, thinking of new ways to be helpful, spending less and less on necessary expenses, finding ways to be easier to work with or for — all of these are ways that successful companies strive to be better. Companies who become complacent will ultimately fail.
Some people are naturally change-averse. That’s difficult. In business, the one constant is change and successful companies find a way to encourage and embrace continual change, continual improvement.
Embrace and Influence for Good
If you are looking to make your company successful, if you are in a position to influence the direction and culture of your company, I recommend that you encourage your company to embrace these pillars of success. There are many companies in the North American thermal processing industry that do and are successful including the good folks over at Induction Tooling.
Doug Glenn Publisher Heat TreatToday For more information: Contact Doug at doug@heattreattoday.com
Wallwork Group is doubling its hot isostatic pressing (HIP) capacity with the installation of a second HIP system to support improved component integrity and performance for aerospace applications.
The expansion at its facility in the United Kingdom supports aerospace components requiring the elimination of internal voids and improved mechanical properties, including parts produced by casting and additive manufacturing.
The new system is supplied by Quintus Technologies, a global manufacturer of high-pressure systems with operations in North America. The installation complements Wallwork’s existing thermal processing capabilities, which include vacuum heat treatment, plasma nitriding, and vacuum brazing, enabling a broader range of metallurgical services under one roof.
HIP processing subjects components to elevated temperature and isostatic gas pressure to remove internal porosity and improve structural integrity. The added capacity is expected to support increasing throughput for aerospace clients, where consistency and material performance are tightly controlled.
The expanded operation positions Wallwork to provide integrated thermal processing services to aerospace manufacturers seeking consolidated supply chains. By combining HIP with other heat treatment and surface engineering processes, the company aims to streamline processing routes and reduce handling between suppliers.
Simeon Collins Group Director Wallwork Group
Wallwork will present its expanded HIP capability and single-source aerospace support offering at FIA2026. “Farnborough 2026 is the ideal platform to show how Wallwork is investing in the future of aerospace manufacturing,” said Simeon Collins, group director of Wallwork. “Our second Quintus HIP significantly expands capacity for our [clients], while our full range of accredited thermal processing, surface engineering, and brazing services gives manufacturers a dependable single-source partner.”
Press release is available in its original form here.
In this installment of Answers in the Atmosphere, David (Dave) Wolff, an independent expert focusing on industrial atmospheres for heat treat applications, examines the powerful reducing properties and high thermal conductivity that make hydrogen a critical atmosphere in metal thermal processing.
This informative piece on hydrogen’s role in sintering, annealing, and surface protection — including how it is sourced, how it behaves inside the furnace, and how operations can safely manage this flammable atmosphere under NFPA 86 —was first released in Heat Treat Today’sApril 2026 Annual Induction Heating & Melting print edition.
Hydrogen is widely used in metal thermal processing for sintering of powdered metal fabrication technologies and for heat treatment (e.g., annealing, brazing) of bulk metal manufactured components. This column draws heavily from an interview the author had with Stephen Feldbauer Ph.D., director of Research & Development at Abbott Furnace. Abbott Furnace is a leading furnace manufacturer for continuous furnaces and furnace controls. As R&D Director, Steve leads Abbott’s work in pioneering furnace advances with a special focus on debinding and sintering.
Why Hydrogen?
Stephen Feldbauer, PhD Director of Research & Development Abbott Furnace
Hydrogen provides two desirable characteristics to heat treaters: very high chemical reducing potential and the highest thermal conductivity of any gas. The high reducing potential enables hydrogen to convert heated metal oxide coatings to pure metals. This is extremely helpful for successful sintering of powder metallurgical parts. Superior thermal conductivity enables rapid part heat up and cool down. Compared with either vacuum or inert gas atmospheres, hydrogen enables much faster throughput and achieves shorter furnace cycles.
Hydrogen-containing atmospheres are required to successfully sinter most iron-based metal parts, whether manufactured by powder metallurgy (PM), metal injection molding (MIM), or binder-jet metal additive manufacturing techniques. As-received, the iron-containing metal powders used for these advanced fabrication techniques are covered with an iron-oxide coating, making it virtually impossible to successfully sinter the particles together under reasonable temperature conditions. Reducing the oxide coating enables successful sintering.
Hydrogen-based atmospheres used with a tube or strand furnace are the primary surface protective technology used for drawn components (e.g., wire, tubing, and profiles). Hydrogen simultaneously protects the part surface from oxidation and allows metal to anneal, which softens it and restores toughness after it has been hardened by the drawing process.
Sourcing Hydrogen
Because of its high reactivity, hydrogen is almost never found in nature as a pure gas (H2). Instead, it is generally found as a component in a compound like water (H2O) or a hydrocarbon gas or liquid, such as methane (CH4), propane (C3H8), or longer hydrocarbon. In order to be used as a thermal processing atmosphere, hydrogen is liberated from these hydrogen-containing compounds to exist as a pure gas while in use in the hot furnace.
The liberation of elemental hydrogen from its compound carrier can happen at a remote plant operated by an industrial gas company provider, in which case the hydrogen would be compressed or liquified for delivery to the thermal treatment client, or may be conducted at the site of the thermal processor themselves through use of on-site generation equipment. User choices of approaches to pure hydrogen supply will be covered in future columns.
Inside the Furnace
Inside the hot furnace, hydrogen changes metal oxide coatings to pure metals by preferentially reacting with the metal oxides to produce pure metal and water vapor. Thus, the furnace atmosphere dewpoint (a measure of gaseous water content) will increase as the hydrogen simultaneously creates pure metal surfaces and produces water vapor as a byproduct. The water vapor is swept out of the furnace and replaced by the clean furnace atmosphere that flows counter current to the heated metal product. Furnace atmosphere controls for hydrogen-based atmospheres use dewpoint as a key operating parameter.
Hydrogen’s ability to protect the part surface from oxidation is critical in the annealing process. | Image Credit: Abbott Furnace
Since furnaces must open to admit parts for thermal processing, the furnace, the atmosphere system, and the procedures must all be designed to prevent unsafe conditions caused by hydrogen leaking out of the furnace, or air leaking in. Furnaces intended for a flammable gas atmosphere use doors, curtains, and pilot lights (i.e., flame curtains) to prevent hydrogen or other flammable gas from leaving the furnace without being combusted. These precautions avoid explosions inside or outside the furnace.
Furnaces for hydrogen-containing atmospheres utilize unique design and construction approaches to safely use this flammable atmosphere. In the U.S., furnace design and operation is guided by NFPA 86, the furnace code. NFPA 86 defines certain furnace design features and also defines standard operating techniques for safe operation with a combustible atmosphere, such as a hydrogen-containing atmosphere. Similar codes and standards are used in other countries.
Next month, this column will pick up the question of cost by looking at options for generation of hydrogen atmosphere blends. Generation of pure hydrogen will be a future topic.
About The Author:
David (Dave) Wolff Industrial Gas Professional Wolff Engineering
Dave Wolff has over 40 years of project engineering, industrial gas generation and application engineering, marketing, and sales experience. Dave holds a degree in engineering science from Dartmouth College. Currently, he consults in the areas of industrial gas and chemical new product development and commercial introduction, as well as market development and selling practices.
In today’s News from Abroadinstallment, we highlight several major global developments — from low-carbon steelmaking initiatives to meltshop modernization and new tube production capacity to the electrification of foundry operations — reflecting ongoing efforts to improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and modernize thermal processing worldwide.
Heat TreatTodaypartners with two international publications to deliver the latest news, tech tips, and cutting-edge articles that will serve our audience — manufacturers with in-house heat treat. Furnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication, primarily serves the English-speaking globe, and heat processing, a Vulkan-Verlag GmbH publication, serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets.
Low-Carbon Steel Project Builds on EAF Route
Marcegaglia and Danieli jointly announced the signing of an agreement related to the implementation of a major steelmaking and flat-rolling facility investment in Fos-sur-Mer, France. | Image Credit: Danieli
“Marcegaglia and Danieli have signed an agreement to implement a new steelmaking and flat-rolling facility in Fos-sur-Mer, France. The plant is set to produce over 2 Mtpy of liquid steel and up to 3 Mtpy of hot-rolled stainless and carbon steel coils, covering approximately 35% of Marcegaglia’s total coil and slab demand.”
“The plant will include a modern electric arc furnace, a single-strand continuous caster for thick slabs and a conventional hot-strip mill. Danieli highlighted that this configuration will ensure production efficiency, stable operations and product quality across a range of flat steel grades.”
Kardemir ordered a unified digital architecture from Primetals Technologies to optimize the processes of its entire meltshop. | Image Credit: Kardemir
“Steel producer Kardemir has awarded Primetals Technologies a contract to modernise the automation environment at its meltshop in Karabük, Türkiye. The project includes modernising the automation for three LD converters (BOFs) for single ladle furnaces (LFs), and one vacuum degasser (VD). Each converter is designed for 120-ton heats.”
“The Level 2 process optimisation system will integrate all BOF, LF, and VD units into a single digital architecture, connecting metallurgical, operational, and planning data in one environment. This ‘steelmaking backbone’ provides operators and metallurgists with a shared interface and standardised procedures, improving data consistency, process execution, and transparency across shifts.”
New tube plant in Altmünster has officially opened. | Image Credit: Wuppermann Metalltechnik GmbH
“Wuppermann Metalltechnik GmbH (WMT) has officially opened its new tube plant at the Altmünster site with a ceremonial event. More than 100 guests — including business partners and employees, as well as representatives from politics and industry — attended the event on April 24, 2026 and were given an exclusive insight into one of Europe’s most modern tube plants.”
“Through this investment, WMT is not only expanding its own production capacity but also significantly broadening its product range: the new state-of-the-art facility will manufacture, among other things, complex special profiles with wall thicknesses of up to 4 mm and an extended range of dimensions and strengths. Steel grades such as DP800, DP980 and 22MnB5, with tensile strengths of up to 1,000 MPa, will be processed.”
Phil Limbach (left), managing director of Beinbauer Group and Till Schreiter, CEO of ABP Induction Systems GmbH, at the contract signing. | Image Credit: ABP Induction Systems GmbH
“With the signing of the contract by Phil Limbach, member of the management of the Beinbauer Group, and ABP CEO Till Schreiter, as well as a joint site visit by the project teams of Beinbauer Casting and ABP Induction, the official starting signal was given for a groundbreaking major project.”
“In the coming months, the Schwerte foundry will undergo a fundamental technological transformation. The existing cupola furnace will be replaced by a modern, electrically powered induction melting furnace. For Beinbauer Casting, this project represents more than just a technological upgrade…The new electric arc furnace enables more sustainable production, the fulfillment of new [client] requirements, and long-term growth at the German site.”
