Specialist Applications
Showcasing the wide range of Chemours Speciality Fluid Applications
What are speciality fluids by Chemours™?
The speciality fluids portfolio by Chemours™ is made up of Opteon™ products. Opteon™ specialty fluids are HFO (hydrofluoroolefin) – based products with zero ODP and ultra low GWP. The Opteon™ range portfolios provide a range of solvency power, compatibility with a variety of materials and high performance.
The unique properties of Opteon™ specialty fluids include low heat of evaporation, excellent solvent retention, low surface tension, low viscosity, nonflammability, chemical and thermal stability, low toxicity and ease of recovery by distillation. Opteon™ products are compatible with a broad range of materials, metals, plastics and elastomers.
Used Industry Wide
Because of their versatility and exceptional performance, Opteon™ speciality fluids are commonly used in a multitude of industries including: Aerospace, Automotive, Medical, Optical, Electrical and Manufacturing.
3D Printing
The recent technological advances within 3D printing has begun a boom within this industry not only for medical advancements, such as artificial joints and prosthetic limbs but also within the automotive and aerospace industries to create prototypes of new products.
It can be used for industrial design and even small-scale manufacturing operations.
For inventors and small business manufacturers, developing product prototypes can be a laborious and expensive process, resulting in 3D printing becoming one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Due to the complexity and intricacy of not only the 3D printer itself but also the small, delegate components it prints, cleaning requirements have yet again become the product in demand.
Chemours™ recognised this spike in innovation and produced new generation fluids which not only meet this demand but also surpass the environmental regulations by far.
Oxygen Cleaning
Cleaning demands have heightened more recently for systems that are designed to carry and transport pure liquid oxygen, since the slightest contamination or residue can cause large explosions.
Hospital tubing and aeroplane components are examples of parts that require cleaning with extra care, and critical attention is essential. All oxygen systems must be cleaned using a non-flammable, fast drying, residue-free cleaner. Chemours™ have produced a chemical that is just that – SF30®.
Drying
Due to their unique combination of properties, Opteon™ specialty fluids are excellent drying solutions after aqueous cleaning, eliminating the problems that commonly occur with oven, hot air knife or tumble drying.
For example, due to their lower surface tension, Opteon™ eliminate the problem of water getting trapped in a complex part because they can get into small gaps and blind holes and push the water out. The low boiling point of our products enables them to evaporate quickly — allowing parts to be processed faster, resulting in lower energy costs.
Opteon™ specialty fluids are used extensively for drying in a wide variety of industries, such as jewellery and watchmaking, optical and automotive tool manufacturing.
Vapor Degreasing
This is one of the largest cleaning applications in the market as it required to clean components to an exceptionally high standard.
This is a very diverse market made up of manufacturers of aerospace and optical components, metal framing, household fixtures, automotive parts and costume jewellery. The most common need is to remove soils, greases, fingerprints or waxes – without compromising the component in any way. Chemours™ SF80® performs extremely well in this arena, with its ultra low surface tension, it ability to penetrate small holes and crevices, which may even be blind to the eye.
Brine/Coolant
Opteon™ are very effective brine/coolants that prevent a part or device from overheating.
In a brine/coolant application, Opteon™ is enclosed in a heat exchanger system. When Opteon™ come in contact with parts at high temperatures, they evaporate – cooling the parts. As Opteon™ moves to the cooler side of the heat exchanger system, it condenses back into liquid state. These products are used to continuously cool down parts that could become damaged due to excessive heat.
Aerosols
Opteon™ specialty fluids are an ideal choice for replacing flammable or high GWP products in aerosol formulations due to their excellent environmental properties and ability to meet the diverse requirements of formulators.
Specifically, Opteon™ specialty fluids provide outstanding cleaning performance; are non-flammable; feature reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) content and low toxicity; are quick drying; leave no residue; and offer good materials compatibility.
Carrier Fluids
Opteon™ specialty fluids are ideal replacements for Methylene Chlorise, PFCs, HFCs and HFEs in carrier fluid/lubricant deposition applications, especially in adhesive hard disk drives and medical device industries.
In these applications, Opteon™ is used as the carrier fluid. Because Opteon™ products are fast drying, they evaporate – leaving behind an even controllable coating.
Heat Transfer
Opteon™ specialty fluids, particularly Opteon™ SF10®, offer a convenient and affordable solution to meet the complex challenges of heat transfer applications.
Their operating temperature range and thermal stability guarantee continued effectiveness over several boiling cycles. Opteon™ specialty fluids are typically used as heat transfer fluids for semiconductor tools, battery cooling and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
High Voltage
Opteon™ specialty fluids are widely used as dielectric or testing fluids in many high voltage applications.
The dielectric properties and breakdown voltage of Opteon™ make them ideal choices for this application. Typical uses include electrical testing of insulation sleeves, commercial glove testing, sleeve testing equipment and high voltage electronic cooling.
Testing
As testing fluids, Opteon™ specialty fluids are used for a wide range of applications, including fingerprint extraction, wastewater analysis and virus extraction.
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As experts in the field, Fraser Technologies have a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing our clients’ industries and sectors. Our insights and independent recommendations are based on over 55 years experience, and rigorous analysis of the options available to you.
