Industrial Gas

R&H Industrial Supplies plays a crucial role, serving as a proud and vital partner and distributor for Air Liquide, connecting local customers with Air Liquide’s extensive range of products and expertise.

Air Liquide provides essential industrial and specialty gases to a vast array of sectors, including steel, automotive, fabrication, food & beverage, mining, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and glass. Alongside its industrial operations, Air Liquide Healthcare delivers medical gases to hospitals and supports patients at home with respiratory solutions through its Vital Aire service.

R&H specialises in a range of Industrial and welding gasses and has been a proud distributor for Air Liquide since 2001.

We can provide a tailored bespoke solution to your Industrial Gas needs and can cater to your needs be they big or small.

Acetylene is a colorless, highly flammable gas with a distinct, slightly sweet odor. It is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block in various industrial processes. The most common application of acetylene is in oxy-acetylene welding and cutting, where it produces a very hot flame when combined with oxygen—hot enough to melt most metals.

Chemically known as C₂H₂, acetylene is the simplest alkyne (a hydrocarbon with a triple bond) and is produced either from calcium carbide and water or as a byproduct of hydrocarbon cracking. In addition to its role in metalworking, acetylene is used in the production of plastics, synthetic rubber, and other organic chemicals.

Due to its instability under pressure, acetylene is stored and transported in specially designed cylinders with a porous material soaked in a stabilizing solvent, typically acetone.

Laser welding is a high-precision joining process widely used in industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical devices, and electronics. One of the critical components influencing the quality and efficiency of laser welding is the use of shielding and assist gases. These gases serve multiple essential roles during the welding process: they protect the molten weld pool from atmospheric contamination, influence the shape and depth of the weld, and assist in material ejection or cleaning, depending on the application.

Commonly used gases in laser welding include inert gases such as argon and helium, as well as active gases like nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The selection of a specific gas or gas mixture depends on several factors, including the type of material being welded, the desired weld properties, and the laser type (e.g., CO₂ or fiber laser). The right choice of gas not only ensures optimal weld quality and metallurgical properties but also enhances process stability and reduces defects such as porosity and oxidation.

Understanding the functions, characteristics, and effects of different gases used in laser welding is crucial for optimising performance, reducing costs, and achieving consistent results in high-precision manufacturing environments.

Industrial mixed gases are specially formulated combinations of gases used to optimize performance in various welding and metal fabrication processes. These gas mixtures are designed to improve weld quality, stability, penetration, and overall efficiency, depending on the materials and techniques being used.

Common mixtures include combinations of argon, carbon dioxide (CO₂), oxygen (O₂), helium, hydrogen, and sometimes nitrogen, tailored for specific welding methods like MIG (Metal Inert Gas), TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas), and plasma welding. For example:

Argon/CO₂ mixtures are widely used in MIG welding of steel, balancing arc stability with good weld penetration.

Argon/O₂ mixtures are used to enhance arc characteristics and improve weld pool fluidity in stainless and carbon steels.

Helium-based mixes are favored for TIG welding aluminum and non-ferrous metals, providing higher heat input and faster travel speeds.

Using the right gas mixture ensures cleaner welds, reduced spatter, improved arc control, and enhanced mechanical properties of the final product. Industrial mixed gases are supplied in high-pressure cylinders or through on-site gas supply systems, depending on the scale of the operation.

Oxygen is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas that is essential for life on Earth. It makes up about 21% of the Earth’s atmosphere and plays a crucial role in respiration, combustion, and various industrial processes. Chemically represented as O₂, oxygen is a diatomic molecule—meaning it naturally exists as two oxygen atoms bonded together.

In industry, oxygen is widely used to support combustion, especially in combination with fuels like acetylene for oxy-acetylene welding and cutting. The high-temperature flame produced by this mix can melt and cut through metals with precision and efficiency.

Beyond metalworking, oxygen is vital in medical applications (such as supplemental oxygen therapy), water treatment, steel manufacturing, and the production of chemicals and energy. It is typically produced through air separation processes like cryogenic distillation or pressure swing adsorption (PSA).

Oxygen is non-flammable but greatly enhances combustion, so it must be handled with care around fuels or open flames.