High-Throughput Compatibility Screening of Materials for SF 6 -Alternative Insulation

• Published in: Environmental science & technology 2024-07
• Main Authors: Gao, Wenqiang, Posada, Luisa F, Shiravand, Vahid, Shubhashish, Shubhashish, Price, Capri, Potyrailo, Radislav A, Younsi, Karim, Shan, Shiyao, Ndiaye, Ibrahima, Zhou, Jierui, Laso, Andres, Uzelac, Nenad, Zhong, Wesley, Suib, Steven L, Cao, Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c03190

With the annual global electricity production exceeding 30,000 TWh, the safe transmission of electric power has been heavily relying on SF , the most potent industrial greenhouse gas. While promising SF alternatives have been proposed, their compatibilities with materials used in gas-insulated equipment (GIE) must be thoroughly studied. This is particularly true as the emerging SF alternatives generally leverage their relatively higher reactivity to achieve lower global warming potentials (GWPs). Here, a high-throughput compatibility screening of common GIE materials was conducted with a representative SF alternative, namely, C F N (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-2-(trifluoromethyl)propanenitrile)/CO gas mixtures. In this screening, the insulation performance of C F N/CO gas mixtures, as an indicator of the C F N/materials compatibility level, was periodically monitored during the thermal aging with tens of materials from SF -insulated GIE, including desiccants/adsorbents, rubber, plastics, composites, ceramics, metals, etc. The identification of incompatible materials and the follow-up mechanism studies suggested that the acidity of materials represents the primary cause for C F N/materials incompatibility when C F N/CO gas mixtures are used as a drop-in replacement solution for existing SF -insulated apparatuses. Mitigation strategies tackling the acidity of materials were then proposed and validated. Additionally, the amphoteric characteristics of C F N were briefly discussed. This work provides insight into the materials incompatibility of SF alternatives, along with validated mitigation strategies, for the selection and design of materials used in future eco-friendly GIE.