# Argon

The inert gas that shields welds, stirs steel and protects chip and solar-ingot furnaces, recovered only from large oxygen plants.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/

Commodity chemicals · Industrial gases · No. 16

- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Air
- world output not published; US sales about 1.1 billion m3 (about 2.0 Mt) in 2025
- 0.3 t CO₂e per t
- HS 280421
 Commodity chemicals · Industrial gases · Foundation · Matter

Argon can run short even when nobody wants more, because it only appears when someone else is making oxygen.

Chart: Illustration: Argon

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Argon boils between nitrogen and oxygen, so it collects in an air separation unit's oxygen column and is drawn off and refined to 99.999%.

##### Three things to know

1. Argon is only recovered when a big air separation unit makes oxygen, so steel or ammonia shutdowns can starve the market.
2. Welding takes 66% of US argon and steelmaking 20%, with electronics and solar ingots most of the rest.
3. Bulk argon cost about $786/t delivered to India in August 2026, about 13% above Chinese export argon at $695/t.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Large ASU**Only big oxygen plants recover argon
2. 2 **Crude argon**Side-draw from the oxygen column
3. 3 **Refining**Purified to 99.999% argon
4. 4 **Liquid delivery**Trucked at -186 C to users
5. 5 **Cylinders**Filled pure or blended with CO2
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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/links/index.md)