subject: Choosing The Right High Temerature Heat Transfer Fluid [print this page] It may be difficult to decide on what type of heat transfer fluid you need for your unit. In this article we are going to go over the high temperature heat transfer fluid options. There are three different options you can choose synthetic, hot oil or others like silicone based. It is important to choose the right type that will best suit your unit. The benefits to choosing the right type of fluid are that you will have less downtime and it will also help to minimize product loss.
Today there are many options out there to choose from. There are a lot of companies that sell these types of fluids. So having an idea of the best high heat transfer fluid will help with the process. The first step in the process is understanding what temperature you need the fluid to be able to handle. There are high temperature fluids and there is low temperature transfer fluid. Once you have figured out if it needs to be high or low then you can begin in choosing the right fluid for you.
The synthetics are benzene based they include diphenyl oxide/biphenyl fluids, the diphenylethanes, dibenzyltoluenes, and terphenyls. The operating range for these types of fluids is -70 F to + 750 F. The synthetics are also known as aromatics. Because of the aromatic-based chemistry of most of the fluids some of the fluids can become hazardous when it is breaking down. These will require special permits, handling and shipping precautions.
Some synthetics and the vapors can cause skin and eye irritation after being around them for a long time. They can also cause a very bad odor. In some cases, spills of synthetic fluids require reporting under the Superfund Amendments and Re-authorization Act. Since there is a wide range of chemistries available within the aromatic group, not all fluids have similar properties and environmental/personnel concerns. The regulations and precautions vary from fluid to fluid.
Hot oils are based with petroleum. Most of them are made up of paraffinic and/or napthenic hydrocarbons. The petroleum based fluids operate at temperature of -10F to 600F. When you are using high grade hydrogenated white oils it is recommended that the temperature range should be between 575F to 600F.
Silicone-based fluids, and to a greater extent hybrid glycol fluids, are used primarily in specialized applications requiring process/product compatibility should a heat exchanger leak occur. This group's performance and cost factor disadvantages in the comparative temperature ranges of the synthetics and hot oils make silicone-based and other specialty fluids unlikely choices for most process applications.
