MEC&F Expert Engineers : TRUCK CARRYING DEOXIDIZERS CATCHES FIRE ON I-394 IN ILLINOIS

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

TRUCK CARRYING DEOXIDIZERS CATCHES FIRE ON I-394 IN ILLINOIS








MAY 19, 2015

GLENWOOD, ILL. (WLS)

Southbound Illinois Route 394 is closed from Thornton-Lansing Road to Glenwood Lansing Road just south of I-80 as crews remove wreckage from an earlier truck fire.

The ramp from southbound I-294 to southbound IL-394 is also closed.

A flatbed semi carrying 55 gallons of flammable deoxidizers caught fire on southbound IL-394 near Glenwood Lansing Drive just after 2 a.m. Tuesday.

First responders were able to separate the cab from the truck and get the driver out safely. It took crews about an hour to extinguish the fire.
Illinois State Police shut down IL-394 in both directions for a few hours to clear the scene. Northbound IL-394 reopened around 4:30 a.m.

Hazardous materials crews worked on cleaning up the chemical spill in the right lane and right shoulder for several hours. Crews are looking into whether some of the chemicals leaked into a nearby creek.

The left lane of southbound IL-394 reopened for a few hours Tuesday morning, before closing again around 8:30 a.m. to allow crews to move the truck.

The cause of the fire in under investigation.

Deoxidizers and Degasifiers 

Featuring 2% boron-copper and 2% lithium-copper hardeners, master alloys, deoxidizers, and degasifiers.

A deoxidizer is a chemical compound used in a reaction to remove oxygen. In comparison with antioxidants, deoxidizers are not used for stabilization during storage but for oxygen removal during manufacture. While deoxidizers are mainly used in metallurgy, to decrease the content of oxygen in materials, Degasifiers are used to remove gases from molten metal.

Deoxidizers in the metals industry:

Aluminum Metal –  is widely used as a deoxidizer.  Aluminum can control austenite grain growth in reheated steels and is therefore added to control grain size. Aluminum is the most effective alloy in controlling grain growth prior to quenching. Titanium, zirconium, and vanadium are also valuable grain growth inhibitors, but there carbides are difficult to dissolve into solution in austenite.

Manganese Metal –  is a mild deoxidizer and desulfurizer. It is generally beneficial to surface quality especially in resulfurized steels. Manganese contributes to strength and hardness, but less than carbon. The increase in strength is dependent upon the carbon content. Increasing the manganese content decreases ductility and weldability, but less than carbon. Manganese has a significant effect on the hardenability of steel.

Silicon Metal – is one of the principal deoxidizers used in steelmaking. Silicon is less effective than manganese in increasing as-rolled strength and hardness. In low-carbon steels, silicon is generally detrimental to surface quality.

Zinc Metal –  although zinc normally functions as a solid-solution strengthener, it is sometimes added in small amounts to function as a deoxidizer, because it has high affinity for oxygen and is relatively low in cost.

Applications:

Deoxidizers and Degasifiers are used to eliminate gas holes, porosity and metal oxides, while providing the benefit of increased fluidity.