Document e12X431r0Oo2jMdORqLYXD94E

specialties still being formulated. Until that time, electrical transformer manufacture!* and customers arc hcsiianr io make fuff commitments to a particular fluid because of insurance ratings. National Electrical Manufacturers Assn, commissioned Factory Mutual to study flammability of the fluids, and results arc 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 NI MA. 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 arc now underway, with Factory Mutual sicking to establish the criteria required for insura bility and for slarnJards for testing substi tutes in the future. Until the standards arc set Up. Factory Mutual has given the various candidate fluids interim acceptance for u<e in trans formers. l iking Cher; 1 cihnScally, PChs arc not Seeking w^y out of PCB woods yet olTicially banned. Monsanto voluntari ly halted production {see side!*!*, p. ,?9), Transformer manufacturers turn to silicones, poly-alpha-olcflns but F-PA's hearings last week were anoth er step toward regulations prohibiting end modified hydrocarbons to replace PCB-bascd askarcls production. Manufacturers of electi teal equipment can use existing stocks of the Hearing* on the Fnvironmcnlal Protec Poly-alpha-olcfins, marketed by Uni product until June 30, 1979, and ran tion Agency'* proposed ban on polychlori- royal Chemical and Gulf Chemical, arc import stocks through the end of this year. nnied biphenyls {see also p. 19) conlinucd more recent entries in the field. After that, PChs cannot be used- except Iasi week with discussions on decreasing And the Fluids Division of R T B Corp. for certain small applications (e g . small allowable PCX contamination in trnns- (Waukesha, Wis.) is marketing a hydro- capacitors), for a period of five years. fosmet dielectric fluid to SO parte per lurbou-tmed product, dubbed RIFrop Nevertheless, the handwriting is on the million, front $00 ppm., and on requiring fluid, for transformer applications. wall, and manufacturer* of electrical incineration of contaminated oil. But for In addition to these three classes, a equipment have been working with transformer manufacturers and suppliers chlorinated aromatic, dubt>cd Jralcc and replacement fluids for some time. of dielectric fluids, the big question is imported front France, is being tested by For example, Wcsfingliotrsc begin a what to use ns a replacement. some transformer manufacturers. development program in 1974 with Dow Three difTcrcnt classes of compounds Walling Game: But the dielectric fluid Corning with silicone fluid in small, power arc scrambling for the new transformer suppliers* scramble for a share of the transformers, moved the pioduets into rn.trJ.ci, pegged at roughly 13-15 million market is complicated by the problem that commercial use in late 1976. Ibs./ycar. ratings of the fluids for flammability arc Flaying on Age: Silicone producers arc Silicone fluids lead in number of suppliers and, most likely, in consumption. General Flcctrie's Silicone Products Dept., Dow Corning and Union Carbide's Chemicals and Plastics Division arc actively competing, in the market. SWS Silicones also has a fluid, although trans formers arc not envisioned as a major market for the company, says SiaufTcr, 51%-joinl ownci of SWS will* Wocker Chemical, U.S. arm of West Germany's r *rClOSro systems In transformers r can still use existing r ''`(-rvr r-v-. *...";. I askarcl slocks, but t ,;v; ........ pressure Is on t tii Lto switch. \\ Wackcr Chcmlc. HONS 007714 September 6, 197ft, CHCMICAi WlfK 27 specialties basing their optimism on what they sec as Outstanding ftctd-cxpcricncc for the fluids (technically potydimciliykiloxancs). A Cl- official notes: "Silicones arc environmen tally safe- they've been proven over a period of 25-30 years in electrical applica tions." And fluids of the same chemical struc ture have been used for over 30 years, he lays, in variety of critical applications, Including direct contact with food under Food and Drug Administration food-addi-. tivc regulations. They are also inert, points out Robert W. Mndberg, 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 foi 20 years or more," he says. "The industry is designing units to last 20 or 30 years," adds William II. Bishop, pioduct market manager at Dow Corning. "You just don't do that overnight, with something that has no data." Bishop reports that there arc at least 2,500 trans formers filled with silicone fluid in commercial use around the world. His company is tracking purchasers of the fust units, filled some four or five years ago, to monitor the fluid, "They arc all performing very well," he lays. And silicone fluids arc 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, askarcis (J'CHs) 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 arc no exception, silicone marketers concede. Still, OF points out that although "sili cone fluids will likely be 20-25% mote expensive" on a first-cost basis, "we believe they offer the best value when evaluated on a total systems basis." Reasons: dura*1' without chemically breaking dr uing sludge depos its, few quired for trans- of hydrocarbons is one of the essentials to new product innovation and continued product quality." 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 moans 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", remembor Phillips, because Phillips is hydrocarbons. For moro Information write: Customer Service Center, Drawer "O", Borger, Texas 79007. Or call: $06 274-5236. *6 CHI!MICAl WLtK Scplcn,l*r6. 1978 PHILLIPS CHEMICAL COMPANY The Performance Company PHIIUPl>SS> *K11..MPS HYDROCARBONS MQNS 007715 iif~ WhGlhcr you need hydrocarbons In cylinder, drum or tank car quantities, or for honvy indus trial chemical or pharmaceutical companies, como to the loader Jn hydrocarbons. Phillips. 7ARAVT1NS traM-Butono-2 Etliunc ell-flutflno? Pioiime Butene 2 UpliPline WtolPilfjJoleM-l Noniirtfcittnc J-MtlWtoiem-t f.MNmclti,lpiopanc 2-Mc%IMc 2 Isopentane Pcntonel Normal Penlftne 2-Mcthylpenlcnc 1 J.MUmet'n'ltHiUric S,3-0melhylbu*enc-1 f,9-Dlmilliytlutane (Ncohexdtc) P'Mctnyl(>cnlaric Hexene-1 9-McllirlpciilRMO 2,4,4-Trlmcthylpcntcne-l Normal Hexane Octane 1 ?,4blimjtityl|U)ntano mixed Normal "Normal Hep'tane ?,?.< TiinUtyl- Octanes Cyclottcxeno pentane Dutadicnc-1,3 Noimal Octane Noimal Noiwnc Normal Decane Normal Undecane Normal Oodecant Cyclopcrilaac Metliyicyclopcntano Cyclohexane Mcthylcyfloliexane ALKYIAAOMATJCS flrweno toluene Eliiylbcnzene orilio-Xylene Sira-Xylene metj-Xylcne 1,2,4-lrimctliylbcitrcnc l$OfHOpy(l)en?cnc DimtUtylcyctolwttnc* isobutylbenreno OirriNS lertBuiylbcnrcnc {thyltnc n*Buiylbcnjcitt; ftojtylcnc Also available Iswwlylenc Butcne-1 Special and Reference taels For more Information or Informa tion on products not listed, call or write: Customer Scrvlco Cen ter, Drawer "O", Borgcr, Texas 76007. $00 274-5P36. ` annual cHiMtcru co**t*Nx much heal of combustion during combus tion, but if all you want is a measure of protection, how high is up? It*s like buying a l.c Mans instead of an Alfa Romeo." Uniroyal marketers, too. note their "ex cellent pricing position." A potential user would have lo evaluate the needs for a fluid; the Factory Mutual tests will help bring application points into proper per spective, the company predicts. RT H marketers contend that one advan tage for their R1 l np fluid is its base stock- paraflin-based crude, which it says is readily available in abundant supply. T he company, which makes transformers, established a fluids division last year, when full-scale marketing of the replace ment for askarcls (both for its own trans formers and those of competitors) began, says James W. Baudhuin, director of investor relations. Retrofitting? RTF also touts its material as being both a makeup fluid for PCBfillcd transformers (at up to 40% by volume) and for retrofilling of either convcntional-oil-filled or PCB-fillcd trans former. Retrofilling, however, "is another can of worms entirely," says one marketer. It is potentially a huge market: ERA estimates that there are presently some 140,000 transformers in service containing about 25 million gal. of PCBs. (There arc about 900 million capacitors, including small appliance! and fluorescent light ballasts, containing about 50 million gal. of PCBs. But capacitors have different requirements and canT use the same replacements as transformers. Manufac turers arc changing to products such as nonchforinatcd biphenyls, e.g., isopropylbiphenyl.) 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 tnanftgci for new products. "If a transformer were filled 20 years ago. its insides arc saturated. So if you don't clean It thoroughly, the PCBs could leach out into Ihc fluid, give a concentration higher than whatever level CPA finally sets." (Arguing against decreasing the allowblc amount of PCBs in transformer fluid from 500 ppm to 50 ppm, NEMA esti mated disposal costs of contaminated fluid at S2.47-3.0C billion - considerably higher than the F.PA estimate of SCI2-769 million. Still-earlier CPA estimates placed Ihc cost lo all industry at $46 million for compliance, plus $J 00 million from pro hibiting application of PCli-contaminntcd oil as a dust-control agent on roads.) "Draining old fluid and putting in new is Still very controvcr.sinl," says Union Carbide's Lindberg. `Tirst. you'd be handling a material th.it 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 ease for retrofilling: where transformers arc 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 sgree that no one fluid will do it all. Tor 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 $)4/ga!., and the hydrocarbon fluids, at perhaps $5-7/gnl. And straight mineral oil, at 7QC/ga!., will still be the material of choice for transformers needing no flame resistance. Why PCBs lost out PCH fluids (askarcls) came into use in the electrical industry jn 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 askarcls arc nonflammable, long- lasting and inert- ironically, Ihc proper ties that caused their downfall. Record* of Monsanto, the only U.S. producer, show that before 1971, production was S5 million lbs./year, which went lo 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 197) 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 olTcr 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. * MONS 007716 Septendxrr 6, 1978^ CMLMICAl WCIK29