Thought this might be of interest. The below costs are for 1 gallon. You think your carpet chems are costly.These are some of things Petron deals with. FLUORINATED LUBRICANTS
There are three classes of fluorinated synthetic lubricants currently in use for industrial applications, plus, Fluorinated lubricants are very expensive, these products are listed in Table 2 with approx. costs.
Table 2 FLUORINATED PRODUCTS - AND APPROX. COSTS.
Products
Approx. Costs
Chlorofluorocarbons 9
$700 - $1,200 per gallon
Perfluoroalkylpolyethers 10
$2,500 - $9,000 per gallon
Fluorosilicones 11,12
$1,000 - $1,200 per gallon
High cost limits the use of these lubricants but even so, industrial applications are expanding primarily because of their excellent chemical inertness and solvent resistance.
The chlorofluorocarbons and perfluoroalkylpolyethers are the most inert, even to liquid oxygen and chlorine. Applications include liquid oxygen pumps; compressors and vacuum pumps handling oxygen, fluorine and other extremely active chemicals vapors; and equipment handling solids products with strong oxidizing characteristics. Chlorofluorocarbons have temperatures limitations with rapid evaporation at 300°F and above. Also, they have poor viscosity-temperature characteristics and relatively high pour points compared with perfluoroalkylpolyethers and fluorosilicones.
Fluorosilicone lubricants have good chemical inertness to a wide variety of harsh corrosive chemicals. One of the early applications for fluorosilicones fluids was microlubrication of the cylinders of methyl chloride and hydrochloric acid compressors. 13 Although fluorosilicones are not recommended for liquid chlorine service, laboratory tests demonstrated their inertness to gaseous chlorine under pressure to 90 psia (260.6 kPa) and temperatures to 392°F.
Fluorosilicone greases made with polytetrafluoroethylene thickener have been tested and demonstrated to have improved chemical inertness as compared to conventional hydrocarbon greases. These greases are very expensive.
SILICONES
In addition to fluorosilicones, other types of silicones are also being used for industrial applications. 14 Dimethylsilicones have excellent viscosity-temperature characteristics and are hydrolytically stable but have questionable metal-to-metal lubricating properties. Additives are available, however, to improve their lubricity. 15
Alkylmethylsilicones have excellent lubricating properties due to the formation of thick rigid films in operations. 16 These lubricants are being formulated with highly refined, saturated base fluids and polyalphaolefins for use in a wide variety of reciprocating compressor, oil-flooded rotary screw compressor and vacuum pumps applications. They provide a lasting protective film and, because of their chemical inertness, protect the metal parts against corrosion. Applications include ammonia refrigeration compressors; methyl chloride, hydrochloric acid and sulphur dioxide compressors; and vacuum pumps handling a wide variety of chemical vapors.
CONCLUSIONS
The number of synthetic lubricants and industrial applications are growing rapidly and will continue to grow during the next decade, at this accelerated rate as 'value engineering' is used to identify applications, select the proper synthetic lubricants, and determine overall cost savings.
In applications involving 'once through' lubrication such as cylinder lubrication of reciprocating air compressors, it is very important to minimize the lubricant feed rates. The result is reduced contamination and pollution; reduced maintenance and downtime; reduced fire hazards; and, in some cases, reduced lubricant requirements. To accurately monitor and control these very small synthetic lubricant feeds, conversion of the existing lubricators to microlubrication is required. Proven, commercially available conversion systems are available. In many cases, payback on this hardware is less than a year.
References
There are three classes of fluorinated synthetic lubricants currently in use for industrial applications, plus, Fluorinated lubricants are very expensive, these products are listed in Table 2 with approx. costs.
Table 2 FLUORINATED PRODUCTS - AND APPROX. COSTS.
Products
Approx. Costs
Chlorofluorocarbons 9
$700 - $1,200 per gallon
Perfluoroalkylpolyethers 10
$2,500 - $9,000 per gallon
Fluorosilicones 11,12
$1,000 - $1,200 per gallon
High cost limits the use of these lubricants but even so, industrial applications are expanding primarily because of their excellent chemical inertness and solvent resistance.
The chlorofluorocarbons and perfluoroalkylpolyethers are the most inert, even to liquid oxygen and chlorine. Applications include liquid oxygen pumps; compressors and vacuum pumps handling oxygen, fluorine and other extremely active chemicals vapors; and equipment handling solids products with strong oxidizing characteristics. Chlorofluorocarbons have temperatures limitations with rapid evaporation at 300°F and above. Also, they have poor viscosity-temperature characteristics and relatively high pour points compared with perfluoroalkylpolyethers and fluorosilicones.
Fluorosilicone lubricants have good chemical inertness to a wide variety of harsh corrosive chemicals. One of the early applications for fluorosilicones fluids was microlubrication of the cylinders of methyl chloride and hydrochloric acid compressors. 13 Although fluorosilicones are not recommended for liquid chlorine service, laboratory tests demonstrated their inertness to gaseous chlorine under pressure to 90 psia (260.6 kPa) and temperatures to 392°F.
Fluorosilicone greases made with polytetrafluoroethylene thickener have been tested and demonstrated to have improved chemical inertness as compared to conventional hydrocarbon greases. These greases are very expensive.
SILICONES
In addition to fluorosilicones, other types of silicones are also being used for industrial applications. 14 Dimethylsilicones have excellent viscosity-temperature characteristics and are hydrolytically stable but have questionable metal-to-metal lubricating properties. Additives are available, however, to improve their lubricity. 15
Alkylmethylsilicones have excellent lubricating properties due to the formation of thick rigid films in operations. 16 These lubricants are being formulated with highly refined, saturated base fluids and polyalphaolefins for use in a wide variety of reciprocating compressor, oil-flooded rotary screw compressor and vacuum pumps applications. They provide a lasting protective film and, because of their chemical inertness, protect the metal parts against corrosion. Applications include ammonia refrigeration compressors; methyl chloride, hydrochloric acid and sulphur dioxide compressors; and vacuum pumps handling a wide variety of chemical vapors.
CONCLUSIONS
The number of synthetic lubricants and industrial applications are growing rapidly and will continue to grow during the next decade, at this accelerated rate as 'value engineering' is used to identify applications, select the proper synthetic lubricants, and determine overall cost savings.
In applications involving 'once through' lubrication such as cylinder lubrication of reciprocating air compressors, it is very important to minimize the lubricant feed rates. The result is reduced contamination and pollution; reduced maintenance and downtime; reduced fire hazards; and, in some cases, reduced lubricant requirements. To accurately monitor and control these very small synthetic lubricant feeds, conversion of the existing lubricators to microlubrication is required. Proven, commercially available conversion systems are available. In many cases, payback on this hardware is less than a year.
References
