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July 2002, Eibis
NEW NON-TOXIC,
HIGH-PERFORMANCE HEAT TRANSFER FLUID
for heating, ventilation,
air-conditioning and refrigeration systems and industrial applications
Thermera®,
a new non-toxic, high-performance heat transfer fluid for use in heat-recovery
units, air conditioning, heat pumps and industrial applications, has been
developed by Neste Oil Corporation, Espoo, Finland. The basis of
Thermera® is natural, water-soluble, biodegradable betaine, a by-product of
sugar beet processing, which is separated from molasses using a method developed
by the world's leading supplier of betaine, Finnfeeds Finland Oy, a subsidiary
of Danisco.
Neste Oil supplies two standard grades: Thermera® -15 and Thermera® -35, which are
designed for use in closed circuits operating in the temperature ranges -15°C
to +110°C and -35°C to +110°C respectively. However, special grades can be
produced with the freezing protection customised to meet end-users' requirements.
Thermera® thermal performance equals or exceeds that of conventional heat
transfer fluids like glycols; life-cycle costs are easily competitive with those
of glycols, because used Thermera® is not toxic waste.
Environmentally friendly
Because betaine is a biodegradable product, Thermera® has an extremely low
environmental impact and can be disposed of like ordinary waste water, unlike
glycol-based heat-transfer fluids which need to be disposed of in a hazardous
waste incinerator. The constituents of standard Thermera® grades are 35 or 50 %
betaine (trimethylglycine), 64 or 49 % purified water, <1 % corrosion
inhibitor, and <1 % odorant.
Corrosion resistance
Additional advantages of Thermera® include excellent cold-flow and
anti-corrosion characteristics, which have been further enhanced by the
inclusion of environmentally benign additives.
Thorough independent corrosion-rate tests were carried out to establish the
speed of change in the metal thickness of pipes and vessels, expressed as
micrometers per annum (ASTM 1384 equivalent test). Using a Thermera® -15
solution, it was shown that the corrosion rate for steel and copper was as low
as 0,3 µm p.a. (mass loss 0,2 mg).
Thermera is always supplied as a ready-to-use solution in containers according
to customer requirements. Local availability of Thermera® and other information
can be obtained from thermera@nesteoil.com
Independent testing
Prior to the launch of Thermera®, independent physical tests were carried out
on the product at Lappeenranta University of Technology, stability tests at the
University of Jyväskylä, circuit analyses at VTT - The Technical Research
Centre of Finland and biochemical analyses at Danisco.
Two Nokia office buildings equipped with ABB Fläkt air-conditioning systems are
the largest office sites currently using Thermera®. To date, the most
significant user of Thermera® for industrial processes is Finnfeeds Finland's
production plant in Naantali, Finland.
In most cases Thermera® can successfully replace conventional heat transfer
fluids without the need for changes to operating parameters or the physical
dimensions of the heat transfer system. However, all existing fluid should be
removed and the pipework rinsed with water before Thermera is used in the system.
10% market share
According to Janne Jokinen, Product Manager at Neste Oil: "There is no
comparable non-toxic alternative to Thermera® currently available, so we expect
to achieve at least a 10% share of Finland's heat-transfer market within 2-3
years. But our goal is, of course, to market Thermera® worldwide."
Thermera® has already been patented in the EU, USA, Canada, Japan, China and
Russia by Neste Oil, which is an ISO 9001 certified company.
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