Materials developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory could provide large cost and energy savings to the chemical and petrochemical industries. The new alloy materials are resistant to metal dusting, a type of degradation that occurs at elevated temperatures in hydrocarbon-containing atmospheres in which carbon activity is high. Such environments are prevalent in chemical and petrochemical industries such as hydrogen-, methanol- and ammonia-reformers and in synthesis gas production plants. The degradation of metallic component materials into powder and the resulting damage make it difficult to maintain equipment used in these industries. Currently, almost all commercial alloys degrade by metal dusting corrosion. This macrophotograph compares commercial nickel-based Alloy 600 (top) and Argonne's new alloy after 5,700 hours of exposure to the same metal-dusting environment at 593簞C.