You should know: A brief introduction about SF6 gas.
What is Sf6 gas?
SF6 gas or pure Sulfur hexafluoride is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic and negative charge chemical gas.
The molecular structure of SF6 is composed of one sulfur (S) atom and 6 fluorides (F) atoms. At room temperature, SF6 gas is inert and does not react with other substances
SF6 gas was first discovered in the laboratory of Faculte de Pharmacie de Paris in 1900. In 1937, the Electricity Corporation used SF6 gas as an insulating material for the first time.
Sulfur hexafluoride is 5 times heavier than air, so the risk of creating a global warming effect is enormous. if the same amount of SF6 and CO2 is released into the Earth’s atmosphere, the global warming effect caused by SF6 is approximately 22,000 times stronger than CO2. Thus, sf6 is called a greenhouse gas.
For example, if you let one kilogram of Sulfur hexafluoride emit into the atmosphere, it causes the same effect as 22 tons of CO2.
Therefore, the European Commission has issued EC Regulation No. 842/2006 requiring Sulfur hexafluoride gas in the high-pressure switch must be withdrawn after use.
SF6 gas recovery must be performed by experienced technicians. Minimizing the loss of Sulfur hexafluoride into the atmosphere is very important in protecting the natural environment.
History – the origin of sf6 gas
SF6 is generally called Sulfur hexafluoride, its chemical formula is SF6. The properties of SF6 and Sulfur hexafluoride gas are Characteristic.
Characteristic structure and properties of SF6 gas
In the middle of the 20th century, after World War II, SF6 gas was widely used as an insulating material due to its properties. The use of Sf6 in electrical systems was rapidly increasing because of its efficiency.
In 1948, The League of Chemical and Penn Salt corporations was the first US parties to commercialize this gas.
By the 1960s, the application of SF6 high-voltage circuit breakers became more common.
As the demand for SF6 increased rapidly, many manufacturing plants in Europe and America started to produce it in bulk to meet demand.
In the early days, SF6 was used only for the main purpose of insulation in electrical systems.
But, Scientists had done more research on it and then they found that SF6 was able to suppress the arc efficiently.
Since then, this gas began to be widely used in electrical circuit breakers and as an arc stamping intermediary.
The first SF6 gas-insulated transformer was created in Paris in 1966. SF6 gas-insulated medium-voltage circuit breaker was successfully created in 1971 for the first time.
And some main uses of the Sulfur hexafluoride gas are strongly developed at present.
The important applications of sulfur hexafluoride gas are mostly studied and used in the electrical energy industry.
In this industry, SF6 gas acts like a dielectric and has been used as an insulating material for many years.
Physical Properties and outstanding properties of Sf6 Gas
- The dielectric strength of sulfur hexafluoride gas is 2 times more effective than air.
- Sulfur hexafluoride gas is non-flammable, non-corrosive, and non-toxic.
- SF6 is chemically stable and difficult to decompose.
- The SF6 molecule is efficient for electric arc stamping, helps to reduce the wear of the equipment contacts as well as the number of servicing times required.
- SF6 gas is able to transfer heat well, helps to dissipate heat to reduce the temperature of the devices when operating.
How to distinguish which is the quality SF6 gas?
With these outstanding advantages mentioned above, SF6 gas is currently one of the most important gases applied in many different industries in the world.
Manufacturing industries and especially the electricity industry in our country are not exceptions.
However, the sulfur hexafluoride gas used in Vietnam is now all imported from an intermediate country or redistributed by other establishments.
This means that the quality of sulfur hexafluoride gas product is unstable and extremely hard to distinguish.
Thus, Customers will have many problems in finding a good supplier for quality SF6 gas meeting their specific demand. Buying poor-quality SF6 causes much serious consequences and financial loss for your business.
SF6 gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, so it is really difficult to detect whether there are any impurities with similar properties in it or not.
Therefore, distinguishing SF6 gas is not based on the naked eye or the assessment of the landscape, but the correct way to determine SF6 gas quality is to use the SF6 gas synthesis testing equipment, the SF6 purity analyzer, density testing equipment, SF6 gas dew point meter,…
You can also ask for the certificate of origin and certificate of inspection of Sf6 gas from your supplier to make sure about the product you buy.
