Daniel Cohen
Market Developer - Dow Glycol Heat Transfer Fluids
Energy generation and electricity are critical facets of our everyday infrastructure. The most common energy system is the combined cycle power plant or combined power gas turbine. These types of energy plants are critical as they allow for the production of more electricity and power with greater efficiency. Heat transfer glycol fluids play an essential role in maximizing the efficiency of these modern power plants, especially in high-temperature environments.
Unfortunately, it is common for energy facilities to utilize plain water instead of demineralized water or cheaper thermal fluids as the aqueous solution of choice. When they use these types of fluids or inadequate glycol chemicals, they are choosing to save pennies today at the cost of a dollar tomorrow. Selecting the proper heat transfer fluid is critical to ensuring the longevity of applications and systems. Do not jeopardize critical thermal equipment, such as recovery steam generators, with cheap, bargain-brand thermal fluid chemicals. When it comes to protecting your systems from corrosion and damage, Trust the Dow Thermal Fluids.
Not all power and energy generation facilities have access to their own demineralized water, and many must source a thermal fluid to keep their applications and processes running smoothly. When energy systems and thermal applications require a premixed delivery of inhibited glycol, some companies source homebrew fluids, as they tend to be less expensive. These insufficient glycol fluids attempt to copy Dow’s DOWFROST™ or DOWTHERM™ but have proven inadequate. This is because these off-brand thermal fluids can contain chemicals like soluble salts, such as chlorides, sulfates, and bicarbonates, that cause corrosion and buildup. Some of these inadequate fluids can also contain hard water salts, such as calcium, magnesium, and iron, that cause scale and additive precipitation. These glycol chemical fluids have shown they cannot perform in the demanding, sometimes harsh, temperature environments required by specific applications.
Homebrew fluids are well known for being produced from nonvirgin or recycled chemicals. Commonly, there is a lack of backward integration for homebrew formulators, which cannot deliver comparable performance to Dow’s DOWFROST™ thermal fluids and DOWTHERM™ inhibited glycols. Imagine your company just spent close to a billion dollars on an 800-megawatt pair of power blocks for a heating system, and in selecting a homebrew, you have condemned your glycol to corrosion, odor, degradation, and reduced fluid lifetime. The money you saved on using a homebrew fluid is not worth the costs you have incurred for total system replacement.
Glycol fluid chemistries can degrade over time and lead to the formation of organic acids, especially when fluids are exposed to high temperatures. These acid chemicals can reduce the pH of entire systems, resulting in high corrosion rates and thermal system failure. When it comes to efficiency and saving costs and energy down the road, choose DOWFROST™, a trusted propylene glycol thermal fluid for your applications. Keep your system operating smoothly and efficiently with Dow propylene glycol heat transfer fluids.
Why use Dow Glycol?
With more than 80 years of experience and a proven performance and track record, Dow has perfected high-quality performance glycols and heat transfer fluids. DOWFROST™ thermal glycols thrive in varying temperature applications, such as boilers and chillers, making them a highly versatile propylene glycol fluid. DOWFROST™ chemical fluids can also be used in many applications, such as recovery steam generators, superheaters, and waste heat recovery, making DOWFROST™ fluid an essential glycol fluid for many different industries and applications with varying temperature requirements and wet environments.
The images below clearly reflect the importance of utilizing a high-quality thermal liquid chemical to protect equipment and applications. The images on the left show the level of corrosion that can occur with plain water and a mixed uninhibited homebrew propylene glycol fluid. The image on the right illustrates the efficiency and high-quality performance of DOWFROST™ HD glycol fluid with a proper corrosion inhibited package. The images reflect a carbon steel tube placed in a sealed jar and kept in an oven at 70°F for five years to demonstrate the significance of keeping systems protected and not subjecting them to corrosion caused by inadequate heat transfer fluids or plain water.
