Document 1gDv0gznLk2GRpXzRRo3r3ZYj

^ \>v*> - ',-r ' v "" - 9/18/78 FYI: L. Miller D. Wood $Epm Mollica ,Stohr R. I sham FROM: t" rA TRANSFORMERS (behind trees) in residential areas need fire-resistant dielectric fluids. -tsox .jCL -g 9*+ KE Transformer manufacturers turn to silicones, poly-afpha-olefins and modified hydrocarbons to replace PCB-based askarels Hearings on the Environmental Protec tion Agency's proposed ban on polychlori nated biphenyls (sec also p. 19) continued last week with discussions on decreasing allowable PCB contamination in trans former dielectric fluid to 50 parts per million, from 500 ppm., and on requiring incineration of contaminated oil. But for transformer manufacturers and suppliers of dielectric fluids, the big question is what to use as a replacement. Three different classes of compounds are scrambling for the new transformer market, pegged at roughly 13-15 million lbs./year. Silicone fluids lead in number of suppliers and, most likely, in consumption. General Electric's Silicone Products Dept., Dow Corning and Union Carbide's Chemicals and Plastics Division are actively competing in the market. SWS Silicones also has a fluid, although trans formers are not envisioned as a major market for the company, says StaulTer, 51 %-joinl owner of SWS with Wacker Chemical, U.S. arm of West Germany's Wacker Chemie. Poly-alpha-olefins, marketed by Uni royal Chemical and Gulf Chemical, are more recent entries in the field. And the Fluids Division of R T E Corp. (Waukesha, Wis.) is marketing a hydro carbon-based product, dubbed RTEmp fluid, for transformer applications. In addition to these three classes, a chlorinated aromatic, dubbed Tralee and imported from France, is being tested by some transformer manufacturers. Waiting Game: But the dielectric fiuid suppliers' scramble for a share of the market is complicated by the problem that ratings of the fluids for flammability are CLOSF.D systems in transformers can still use existing askarel slocks, but pressure is on to switch. still being formulated. Until that time, electrical transformer manufacturers and customers are hesitant to make full commitments to a particular fluid because of insurance ratings. National Electrical Manufacturers Assn, commissioned Factory Mutual to study flammability of the fluids, and results are not expected until about the end of this year. "Factory Mutual seemed the dominant group to make judgments on substitutes," explains John H. Motherway, power equipment division manager of NEMA. The contract covers "very specific ques tions of flammability: tests for standards of flammability and for the evaluation by Factory Mutual into their system of insur ability," he says. Covered in the tests: the manner of heat release, large-scale burn tests. Motherway says final evaluations of the data are now underway, with Factory Mutual seeking to establish the criteria required for insura bility and for standards for testing substi tutes in the future. Until the standards are set up. Factory Mutual has given the various candidate fluids interim acceptance for use in trans formers. Taking Over: Technically, PCBs are not yet officially banned. Monsanto voluntari ly halted production (see sidebar, p. 29), but EPA's hearings last week were anoth er step toward regulations prohibiting production. Manufacturers of eleclrical equipment can use existing stocks of the product until June 30, 1979, and can import stocks through the end of this year. After that, PCBs cannot be used--except for certain small applications (e.g., small capacitors), for a period of five years. Nevertheless, the handwriting is on the wall, and manufacturers of electrical equipment have been working with replacement fluids for some time. For example, Westinghouse began a development program in 1974 with Dow Corning with silicone fluid in small, power transformers, moved the products into commercial use in late 1976. Playing on Age: Silicone producers are September 6, 197& CHEMICAL WEEK 27 DSW 306378 STLCOPCB4069697 specialties r basing their optimism on what they see as outstanding field-experience for the fluids (technically polydimethylsiloxanes). A GE official notes: "Silicones are environmen tally safe--they've been proven over a period of 25-30 years in electrical applica / \ '' is>: rep-'m' \%\ \W tions." And fluids of the same chemical struc ture have been used for over 30 years, he says, in a variety of critical applications, including direct contact with food under Food and Drug Administration food-addi tive regulations. They are also inert, points out Robert ft. W. Lindberg, marketing manager for sili cones at Union Carbide. "They don't react with anything. When you have a coolant in a transformer, you expect it to be there - - lyr-* for 20 years or more," he says. "The industry is designing units to last 20 or 30 years," adds William H. Bishop, product market manager at Dow Corning. "You just don't do that overnight, with something that has no data." Bishop reports that there are at least 2,500 trans formers filled with silicone fluid in \ *V commercial use around the world. His company is tracking purchasers of the first units, filled some four or five years ago, to monitor the fluid. "They are all performing very well," he says. And silicone fluids are the least flam mable of the three types of competing ,, materials. Dow-Corning's Bishop figures it this way: on a rough flammability scale of water, 0, to ethyl ether, 100, askarels (PCBs) are 2 to 5, silicone fluids 4-5 and standard hydrocarbon oils 10-20. However, in most of their applications, silicones tend to be premium-priced mate rials, and transformer dielectric fluids are no exception, silicone marketers concede. of hydrocarbons is one Of the essentials tonew product Still, GE points out that although "sili cone fluids will likely be 20-25% more innovation and continued expensive" on a first-cost basis, "we believe they offer the best value when product quality." evaluated on a Reasons: dura*-' breaking do its, few total systems basis." without chemically xiing sludge depos quired for trans- In any field, imagination is the seed of innovation. But while striving for innovation, the forces of reality come into play. And in the hydrocarbon area, reality means Phillips. . In cylinders, drums or tank cars. For heavy industrial } Chemical or pharmaceutical companies. For existing prod ucts or research, Phillips has what you need in hydrocarbons. So, when you have to face that hydrocarbon "reality", remember Phillips. Because Phillips is hydrocarbons. For more information write: Customer Service Center, Drawer "O", Borger, Texas 79007. Or call: 806 274-5236. 26 CHEMICAL WEEK September 6, 1978 DSW 306379 STLCOPCB4069698 Whether you need hydrocarbons . in cylinder, drum or tank car quantities, or for heavy indus trial chemical or pharmaceutical companies, come to the leader in hydrocarbons. Phillips. PARAFFINS trans-Butene-2 Ethane Propane Isobutane Normal Butane 2.2-Dimethylpropane Isopentane Normal Pentane 2.2-Dimethylbutane 2.3-Dimethylbutane 2-Methylpentane cis-Butane-2 Butene-2 2-Methylbutene-1 3-Methylbutene-1 2-Methylbutene-2 Pentene-1 2-Methyl pentene-1 3,3-Dimethylbutene-1 (Neohexene) Hexene-1 3-Methylpentane Normal Hexane 2.4-Dimelhylpentane Normal Heptane 2.2.4-Trimethyl- pentanc 2.4.4-Trimethylpentene-1 Octene-1 mixed Normal Octenes Cyclohexene Butadiene-1,3 Normal Octane ALKYLAROMATICS Normal Nonane Benzene Normal Decane Toluene Normal Undecane Ethylbenzene Normal Dodecane ortho-Xylene Cyclopentane para-Xylene - Methylcyclopentanc meta-Xylene Cyclohexane M,,.e..t.h...y..lc..y..c..l.o..h...e.xane 1.2.4-Trimcthylbenzene Isopropylbenzene Dimethyl cyclohexanes isobutylbenzene OLEFINS tert-Butylbenzene Ethylene n-Butylbenzene Propylene Also available: i Isobutylene Special and j Butene-1 Reference fuels. For more information or informa tion on products not listed, call ' or write: Customer Service Cen ter, Drawer "O", Borger, Texas i 79007. 806 274-5236. V____________ ____ PHILLIPS CHEMICAL COMPANY ThcMonnann Company much heat of combustion during combus tion, but if all you want is a measure of protection, how high is up? It's like buying a Lc Mans instead of an Alfa Romeo." Uniroyal marketers, too, note their "ex cellent pricing position." A potential user would have to evaluate the needs for a fluid; the Factory Mutual tests will help bring application points into proper per spective, the company predicts. RTE marketers contend that one advan tage for their RTEmp fluid is its base stock--paraffin-based crude, which it says is readily available in abundant supply. The company, which makes transformers, established a fluids division last year, when full-scale marketing of the replace ment for askarels (both for its own trans formers and those of competitors) began, says James W. Baudhuin, director of investor relations. . Retrofilling? RTE also touts its material as being both a makeup fluid for PCB- filled transformers (at up to 40% by volume) and for retrofilling of either conventional-oil-filled or PCB-filled trans formers. Retrofilling, however, "is another can of worms entirely," says one marketer. It is potentially a huge market: EPA estimates that there are presently some 140,000 transformers in service containing about 25 million gal. of PCBs. (There are about 900 million capacitors, including small appliances and fluorescent light ballasts, containing about 50 million gal. of PCBs. But capacitors have different requirements and can't use the same replacements as transformers. Manufac turers are changing to products such as nonchlorinated biphenyls, e.g., isopropyl- biphenyl.) But few marketers expect this market to come through. One immediate problem: "There is no reliable method for cleaning out all PCBs from transformers," says Bipen Doshi, Uniroyal's market develop ment tnanager for new products. "If a transformer were filled 20 years ago, its insides are saturated. So if you don't clean it thoroughly, the PCBs could leach out into the fluid, give a concentration higher than whatever level EPA finally sets." (Arguing against decreasing the allow- ble amount of PCBs in transformer fluid from 500 ppm to 50 ppm, NEMA esti mated disposal costs of contaminated fluid at S2.47-3.06 billion--considerably higher than the EPA estimate of $612-769 million. Still-earlier EPA estimates placed the cost to all industry at $46 million for compliance, plus $100 million from pro hibiting application of PCB-contaminatcd oil as a dust-control agent on roads.) "Draining old fluid and putting in new is still very controversial," says Union Carbide's Lindberg. "First, you'd be handling a material that is very hazard ous. Maybe the safest thing is to leave it until you're forced to do something with it--if a leak develops, for example," he says. Another case for retrofilling: where transformers are near schools, ponds and streams, food-processing plants--"any where a leak could cause a catastrophe," adds Dow-Corning's Bishop. All told, most customers probably agree that no one fluid will do it all. For a transformer costing $13,000-14,000 and holding 220-230 gal. of fluid on the aver age, manufacturers will consider carefully between silicone fluids, at about $ 14/gal., and the hydrocarbon fluids, at perhaps $5-7/gal.. And straight mineral oil, at 70^/gal., will still be the material of choice for transformers needing no flame resistance. Why PCBs lost out PCB fluids (askarels) came into use in the electrical industry in 1929, as dielec tric insulating fluids with fire-resistant properties. On certain installations, they replaced hydrocarbon mineral oil, which is flammable. Mineral oil is still used in many applications. It is well-suited for filling transformers in rural areas, for example, but might prove hazardous if the installation is near schools, hospitals, subway systems and other populated areas. The askarels are nonflammable, longlasting and inert--ironically, the proper ties that caused their downfall. Records of Monsanto, the only U.S. producer, show that before 1971, production was 85 million lbs./year, which went to thousands of customers (e.g., for lubricants, carbon less carbon paper, adhesives, surface coat ings). By 1971, however, research had indi cated the persistence of PCBs and the company began phasing out sales for open applications. Sales were cut to 45 million lbs./year. From 1971 to 1976, Monsanto reports, average production was 27 million lbs./year, with sales to fewer than 40 customers, all manufacturers of sealed electrical equipment. Even those uses seemed to offer potential hazards, howev er, and indications of adverse health effects--possibly causing cancer, birth defects, and liver, nerve and skin damage in humans--sealed PCBs' fate. Monsanto halted production in July 1977. " DSW 306380 September 6, 1978*"' CHEMICAL WEEK 29 STLCOPCB4069699