
Affiliated with CPI Fluid Engineering, the Paratherm division of the lubrication leader, the Lubrizol Corporation, is a global provider of high-quality heat transfer fluids (HTFs).
Its range includes HTFs for a wide array of temperature ranges designed to meet the needs of different applications and industries.
Various factors must be accounted for and balanced when engineering heat transfer fluids for process systems. This includes their physical properties like viscosity, density, thermal conductivity, purity, base chemistry and proprietary formulation, with the finished product being HTFs offering optimum efficiency when providing heat transfer.
Paratherm is a leader in designing and supplying HTFs that exceed other products from its rivals. It offers a diverse range, with more than nine different thermal fluids, as well as an additive engineered to inhibit oxidation and three different system cleaners. These are all designed by employing state-of-the-art fluid chemistries that involve natural organic hydrocarbons, as well as synthetic high-temperature hydrocarbons.
Thermal stability
Perhaps the most important edge that Paratherm products have over rival brands is thermal stability. It supplies thermal fluids with a temperature range that extends from a s low as -88°C up to 357°C allowing Paratherm’s to exceed expectations. As a result, it has thermal fluids that won’t only answer but usually exceed customer requirements.
While Paratherm fluids are compatible with most of its competitor’s fluids in terms of quality and use, its fluid engineering research and development has empowered it to create far more thermally stable fluids when operating at higher temperatures. This means that its HTFs last longer than those of its competition under identical operating conditions.
Cost and safety considerations
Paratherm thermal fluids offer substantial saving for operations.
For example, with its HTFs, companies eliminate any need for employing a full-time operator.
This is in stark contrast to steam-based operations, which involve a system operator to always be present to monitor safety levels. Steam-style systems require operation at extreme pressure and high temperatures, but systems that deploy Paratherm fluids instead require far lower pressure to access the same types of results. This eradicates the additional cost of using a full-time system operator.
As Paratherm requires less pressure to operate than other solutions and has thermal stability at a wider temperature range, it also offers higher safety levels than many alternatives.
Flexibility
A further benefit of Paratherm HTFs is their flexibility in terms of formulation. The fluid selections used in HTFs are extensive to accommodate unique customer needs, whether they involve heating, cooling or in some cases, both.
Fluid engineers at Paratherm closely study the heating method clients use to calculate the thermal impact of systems and ensure correct fluid formulation occurs at the molecular level, a process critical to ensuring safety and efficiency of HTFs in operation.
Paratherm GLT vs competing brands – A performance case study
Paratherm GLT is a thermally stable alkylated aromatic-based HTF, engineered for liquid phase closed systems heating to 287°C.
It has stand-out characteristics including pumpability at low temperatures, wide compatibility with synthetic aromatics and impressive thermal efficiency compared to mineral oil-based HTFs.
Paratherm GLT HTF is thermally stable and exhibited close to 40 per cent less degradation during exposure, to 316°C for a 500-hour cycle than widely used competitive fluids.
Minimum start-up temperature is defined as a realistic measure of the low temperature capability of a thermally stable HTF, as 300 cps is the highest viscosity level a centrifugal pump can cope with.
Paratherm GLT has a lower minimum startup temperature (-6°C) than all mineral-oil based thermal fluids, covering a similar temperature range.
Comparison between Paratherm GLT and a compatible thermal fluid
A side-by-side study of Paratherm GLT and a competing brand equivalent in terms of use and quality offers evidence that Paratherm’s HTF has substantial benefits operating under demanding conditions.
The key contributing factor to alkylated aromatics reaching total degradation is the high boilers. Deterioration from high boiling is caused by process by-products like polyaromatics that result in tars, varnishes and sludges, and a complete alteration in physical properties.
Higher decomposition rates also have a major impact on the fluid’s performance design, and can increase the potential of shorter equipment lifespan, loss of productivity and more frequent cleaning procedures because of fouling.
The study found Paratherm GLT exhibits greater stability with almost half of the total degradation found with the competing brand under such demanding conditions.
Paratherm industry applications
Finally, compared to its competition, Paratherm HTFs are available for wider range of industries. These include, but are not limited to, asphalt paving, chemical processing, gas processing, industrial laundry, plastics manufacturing, engineered wood production and the meat and poultry processing industry.