Oxidation Behavior of Pure Iron under Hydrogen Combustion Environment

Abstract

The environmental resistance of pure iron was evaluated by an oxygen and hydrogen sensor installed after an oxidation furnace. The amount of introduced oxygen was precisely controlled by the oxygen pump sensor at the front stage of the oxidation furnace, and the reaction with hydrogen was analyzed. Thus, when oxygen was supplied, a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen occurred; however, when the supplied oxygen was not sufficient, a hydrogen-vapor environment was created, and oxidation was not accelerated. Conversely, when the amount of supplied oxygen was excessive, the environment became an oxygen–steam environment, and oxidation was accelerated. Therefore, this explained how the oxidation caused by oxygen was dominant under the oxygen–water vapor environment, and the oxidation weight gain increased. In addition, the border of the region dominated by oxygen oxidation and steam oxygen was clarified by precisely controlling the amount of oxygen supplied by the oxygen pump sensor.