Yuji supplies eco-friendly insulating gases for medium voltage (MV) to high voltage (HV) electric power systems in gas insulated equipment (GIE), such as switchgear (GIS), circuit breakers, transmission lines (GIL), substations, and more! Our team of experts have developed SF6 gas and sustainable alternatives with zero ODP and very low GWP, such as C4F7N (C4 gas) and C5F10O (C5 gas) with great dielectric strength and excellent arc-quenching properties. Partner with Yuji to support a greener power industry future based on advanced fluorine chemistry.

What Is The Electric Power Grid?

The power grid delivers electricity from power plants to homes and businesses across the nation. Its vast network of power generation, transmission, and delivery enables all of our devices, electronics, and electric automobiles to function. In the 1800s, Thomas Edison revealed the country’s first power plant at the Pearl Street Station in Manhattan, New York City. Since then, electric power grids have reached every nook and cranny of the United States to power our day to day life.

What Are The Main Functions Of The Electric Power Industry? 

• Power generation: using fossile fuels or renewable energy sources, i.e coal, water, natural gas, nuclear, oil, or wind to generate energy typically at a power plant
• Power transmission: electric power is carried through power lines that span over long-distances at high voltages
• Power distribution: substations receive the electrical transmission and convert the electricity to lower voltages, which then distributes power to homes and businesses via power distribution lines

Through the interconnectivity of the power industry, American society has evolved immensely- however, powering all of America is no easy job.

Why Are Insulating Gases Used In Electric Power Industry?

Grids are designed to supply electricity to industries and communities in large quantities and often times at very high voltages. In order to manage this, electrical transmission equipment use insulating material to convert the electricity’s voltage and protect the equipment that enables this function. Since the 1960’s, dielectric gases such as SF6 have been the preferred insulating material that is used due to its high electrical insulating properties, non-flammability, and non-toxicity.

Dielectric gas is a type of gas used as an electrical insulator in industrial applications. The most often used gases are air, nitrogen, and sulfur hexafluoride. The existence of a dielectric gas is necessary for a number of electrical components, including transformers and circuit breakers, to avoid damage to a circuit in the event of an electrical discharge. Its major objective is to stop or quickly stop electric discharges. In high voltage applications such as transformers, circuit breakers (specifically sulfur hexafluoride circuit breakers), switchgear (specifically high voltage switchgear), radar waveguides, etc., dielectric gases are employed as electrical insulators, i.e insulating gases.

High dielectric strength, high thermal stability, chemical inertness towards the building materials being used, non-flammability and low toxicity, low boiling point, good heat transmission capabilities, and low cost are all desirable qualities in an insulating gas.

Electrical Grid Components – How Does Energy Travel? 

The network of electrical grid components are:

Power Stations: also known as power plant or generating station; many power stations function by burning fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and natural gas to generate electricity. Other plants function on nuclear power or renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydroelectric, or geothermal.

Electrical Substation: this part of the network serves to transform voltage from high to low or vice versa; A substation may also include transformers to adjust voltage levels between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the interconnection of two different transmission voltages.

Electrical Power Transmission: a set of interconnected lines that often span very long distances, to carry high voltage electrical power from a power plant to a substation.

Electric Power Distribution: the final stage in the network that delivers electric power to the consumer. This is done with the help of transformers, in substations and primary distribution lines, which lower transmission voltage to the required level to power your space.

SF6, the Prevalent Insulating Gas of the Power Industry

SF6, Sulfur Hexafluoride, is commonly used as an electrical insulator in high voltage equipment that transmits and distributes electricity. The U.S electric power industry has used SF6 in circuit breakers, gas-insulated substations, and other switchgear used in the transmission system to manage the high voltages carried between generating stations and customer load centers.

The choice of insulating gas is mostly determined by the voltage level of the circuit and device, as well as the gas’s fundamental chemical and thermal characteristics, such as its boiling point and heat-transfer capabilities. It is also necessary to take into account the dielectric gas’s level of toxicity and flammability under specific circumstances. A high-voltage transformer, for example, may experience physical deterioration as a result of an electrical short circuit, resulting in the release of gas into the environment. Because they are mostly inert and nonreactive, air and nitrogen gasses are frequently employed for this reason.

Gas Insulated Equipment (GIE), Gas Insulated Lines (GIL), Circuit Breakers, & Switchgear

Industrial circuit breakers that connect generators to step-up voltage transformers employ sulfur hexafluoride as a dielectric gas in high-voltage switchgear. Additionally, it is employed in high voltage electric power system components including transmission lines, transformers, and substations that call for gas insulators. Due to its outstanding insulating properties and capacity to reduce radio wave and sound wave transmission from electrical equipment, around 80% of all sulfur hexafluoride produced is typically utilized in electrical power plants and substations around the world.

Electrical arcs can develop in electrical power systems, such as switchgear, and because to SF6’s high electronegativity and heat-transferring capabilities, the arc temperature can be reduced. Electron avalanches and flashovers can be efficiently avoided by using SF6 gas and free electrons. Additionally, it has the highest breakdown voltage of any insulating gas, which is the voltage at which a dielectric gas starts to conduct current instead of functioning as an insulator.

Electrical discharges cause SF6 to partially break down, and as a result, oxygen, moisture, and breakdown products such sulphur dioxide may be produced. SF6 gas has the unusual capacity to “self-heal” following the discharge, unlike other insulating materials. Its broad use in the electrical industry is due in part to this.

It’s crucial to analyze SF6 gas on a regular basis. Throughout the equipment’s lifespan, routine periodic maintenance must be performed. This guarantees the safety of both people and equipment.

What Are The Roles of Different Types of Gas Insulated Equipment (GIE)?

• Circuit Breakers: Circuits are opened and closed by circuit breakers. They can be manually controlled for maintenance or will trip automatically in the event of a short circuit. This role in the electrical system is comparable to that of the fuses or breakers in a distribution panel in a home.
• Switchgear: One essential component of an electric power system is switchgear. Fuse, switch, relay, isolator, circuit breaker, potential and current transformer, signaling device, lightning arresters, etc. are examples of switchgear that guards against malfunctioning electrical hardware.
• Transformers: The substation’s transformer serves as its heart. The relationship between the entering voltage and current and the output voltage and current is altered by the transformer. Transformers used in substations are graded according to how well their primary and secondary voltages match up and how much power they can handle.
• Transmission Lines: Electricity travels long distances and is transported through transmission lines. The high-voltage transmission lines are supported by transmission towers, which are substantial buildings. These wires normally feed into a substation where the electricity is lowered to a level where our clients may use it.

What Are Different Dielectric Insulating Gas Types?

Why Is SF6 A Preferred Insulating Gas?

Electrical arcs can develop in electrical power systems, such as switchgear, and because to SF6’s high electronegativity and heat-transferring capabilities, the arc temperature can be reduced. Electron avalanches and flashovers can be efficiently avoided by using SF6 gas and free electrons. Additionally, it has the highest breakdown voltage of any insulating gas, which is the voltage at which a dielectric gas starts to conduct current instead of functioning as an insulator.

Electrical discharges cause SF6 to partially break down, and as a result, oxygen, moisture, and breakdown products such sulphur dioxide may be produced. SF6 gas has the unusual capacity to “self-heal” following the discharge, unlike other insulating materials. Its broad use in the electrical industry is due in part to this.

It’s crucial to analyze SF6 gas on a regular basis. Throughout the equipment’s lifespan, routine periodic maintenance must be performed. This guarantees the safety of both people and equipment.

Why Is SF6 Being Phased Down?

Sulfur hexafluoride has some drawbacks as a dielectric gas, though, and efforts are being undertaken to mix it with safer gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or perfluorocarbon compounds. When released into the atmosphere, sulfur hexafluoride is thought to contribute to global warming 22,800 to 23,900 times more than an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. The substance also has significant health hazards when inhaled by people, including the possibility of respiratory issues. When discharged into the air, the substance frequently mixes with other substances, which can result in fluoride contamination of the body and a number of illnesses. As mentioned in our article, “What Are Ozone-Depleting Substances,” gases with a high greenhouse effect index are identified by government agencies and then regulated across the nation.

The Kyoto Protocol, an international pact between states, went into effect in 2005 requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions on a country-by-country basis. SF6 gas has the potential to linger in the atmosphere for thousands of years due to its chemical stability. As a result, the accord and other regulations have designated it as a greenhouse gas and sets a cap on how much can be released into the environment.

Yuji has developed sustainable insulating gases for electric power systems to help support the industry’s transition to eco-friendly chemical alternatives.

Related Topics:

Fluorine & Electrical Application • What Are Ozone-Depleting Substances • Fluorine Chemistry • SF6 Product Page • C4 Gas Product Page • C5 Gas Product Page