31 Argon Uses in Different Industries (Need To Know Facts!)

Argon is noble gas belonging to group 18^th in the periodic table and has an atomic weight of 39.948 u. let us focus on some uses of argon gas in different industries.

The uses of argon in different industries are listed below –

Argon uses most of the industry as a gaseous form because it exists in a gaseous state due to the lower van der waal’s attraction force. Let us discuss the different industrial uses of argon with proper explanation in the folloiwng aprt of the article.

Uses in Lighting

Argon is used within neon tubes in lighting. When electricity is passed through the argon it then produces a purple-blue glow. As it charges, it starts to emit light at a much lower voltage. Argon is used in incandescent light bulbs to prevent quick oxidation of the filament.

Food and Beverage Industry

Argon is used to displace oxygen- and moisture-containing air in packaging material to extend the shelf-lives of the contents.

Preservative

• Aerial oxidation, hydrolysis, and other chemical reactions that degrade the products are retarded or prevented entirely. High-purity chemicals and pharmaceuticals are sometimes packed and sealed in argon.
• Argon is sometimes used as the propellant in aerosol cans.
• Argon is also used as a preservative for such products as varnish, polyurethane, and paint, by displacing air to prepare a container for storage.

Manufacturing Industry

• Argon is used popularly within welding and casting industries, especially in the making of specialty alloys and manufacturing titanium.
• Argon is used as a shielding gas during arc welding, seeing as it protects the metal that’s being worked on from oxygen. TIG, which stands for ‘tungsten inert gas’, utilizes both pure argon and argon mixtures.
• Within the manufacturing of steel in a converter, argon reduces the chromium losses, meaning the desired carbon content can be met at a reduced and lower temperature.
• Within the manufacturing of aluminum, argon is also used for hydrogen removal and degasification.

Document Preservation

• One of the most fascinating uses of argon gas is the preservation of old documentation.
• The inert nature of the argon gas means it can provide a protective atmosphere.
• This prevents their degradation and damage during their storage and display.

Home Fixtures

• Argon is used for thermal insulation in energy-efficient windows – more specifically, the double-glazed windows that are so common in the UK use argon to fill the space between the panes.
• windows contain this gas, search for two small holes along the spacer material. These holes are needed in production – one for pumping argon in, the other to allow air to be pushed out as the gas comes in.

Scuba Diving

• This noble gas may be used as a dry suit insulation for cold-water diving.
• This is because argon is inert and possesses low thermal conductivity.
• Argon can be used in its argox form, which is the informal name given to a scuba diving breathing gas made of argon and oxygen. However, this application is fairly rare.

Industrial processes

• Argon is used in some high-temperature industrial processes where ordinarily non-reactive substances become reactive. For example, an argon atmosphere is used in graphite electric furnaces to prevent the graphite from burning.

•  Argon is used in some types of arc welding such as gas metal arc welding and gas tungsten arc welding, as well as in the processing of titanium and other reactive elements. An argon atmosphere is also used for growing crystals of silicon and germanium.

• Argon is sometimes used for extinguishing fires where valuable equipment may be damaged by water or foam.

Argon laser uses

Argon lasers are a particularly ion laser that is ionized in the gaseous medium. Let us focus some uses of argon lasers in different fields.

The most commonly used wavelengths for argon laser are in the blue-green region of the visible spectrum. Argon lasers are used in –

• Argon-ion lasers are used for retinal phototherapy, lithography, and the pumping of other lasers.
• The lasers have the potential for use in underwater communications because seawater is quite transparent in this range of wavelengths.
• Holography and an optical pumping source
• Raman spectroscopy and microscopy
• Laser shows in entertainment
• High-speed printing
• Fiber Bragg Grating production

Liquid argon uses

Liquid argon is a very cold, colorless, and nonflammable liquid. Now discuss the important uses of liquid argon in different industries.

Liquid argon is a cryogenic liquid and the uses of liquid argon in scientific research are listed below –

• Liquid argon is used as the target for neutrino experiments and direct dark matter searches.
• Liquid argon is used as a propellant in the development of the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR).
• Compressed argon gas is allowed to expand, to cool the seeker heads of some versions of the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile and other missiles that use cooled thermal seeker heads.
• Liquid argon has been used by athletes as a doping agent to simulate hypoxic conditions

Conclusion

Argon is a noble inert gas molecule that is chemically inert and does not form many compounds. But some organometallic compounds of epoxide of argon are known which have some important uses in different industries.

Biswarup Chandra Dey

Hi……I am Biswarup Chandra Dey, I have completed my Master’s in Chemistry from the Central University of Punjab. My area of specialization is Inorganic Chemistry. Chemistry is not all about reading line by line and memorizing, it is a concept to understand in an easy way and here I am sharing with you the concept about chemistry which I learn because knowledge is worth to share it.