Competitive Position of Natural Gas: Ferrous Forging. Topical Report October 1987-July 1988

摘要

Ferrous forging is an important industrial metal fabrication process and gas market that is facing increased competition from imports and electric technologies. In 1985, the production of ferrous forgings totaled approximately 1.3 million tons with a value of $3.1 billion. The forging industry consumed approximately 6.8 trillion Btu in 1985. Of this total, 4.2 trillion Btu was natural gas. The results of this study indicate that electric heating technologies have, and will continue to penetrate the small workpiece forging market, but that natural gas technologies are preferred in applications which require intermediate reheating or the ability to heat a variety of shapes and sizes in the same furnace.