Heat treatment of pipes was performed under industrial conditions at 580C in a dry protective gas containing a CO2–CO–H2–N2 mixture. A commercial adsorbent (733 kg) used for production ofthe gas removed 52.7 l of water in five h and 22.5 min. During the annealing of pipesoxidation and decarburization were not observed. The results were confirmed bymetallographic analysis. The values of enthalpy of water desorption (36.4–40.5 kJ mol–1) obtained by DSC and TG measurements were close to those of water evaporation(44.1 kJ mol–1). This suggests that the bonds between the water molecules andadsorbents were not of chemical but of physical nature.