Sulphur hexafluoride: Climate change: Electrical industry's 'dirty secret' boosts warming

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

Climate change: Electrical industry's 'dirty secret' boosts warming

By Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent

13 September 2019

It's the most powerful greenhouse gas known to humanity, and emissions have risen rapidly in recent years, the BBC has learned.

Sulphur hexafluoride, or SF6, is widely used in the electrical industry to prevent short circuits and accidents.

But leaks of the little-known gas in the UK and the rest of the EU in 2017 were the equivalent of putting an extra 1.3 million cars on the road.

Levels are rising as an unintended consequence of the green energy boom.

Cheap and non-flammable, SF6 is a colourless, odourless, synthetic gas. It makes a hugely effective insulating material for medium and high-voltage electrical installations.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49567197

[progree]

1. Some more about its impact and why its increasing

1 kg of SF6 has as much warming power as 23,500 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2). And it persists in the atmosphere for 1,000 or more years.

It's being used more now that we are shifting from huge centralized power plants to smaller generators (wind turbines, solar, and gas turbine units)... which results in more electrical connections to the grid meaning more switchgear (breakers and switches) that use SF6.

the global installed base of SF6 is expected to grow by 75% by 2030.

Right now, scientists are detecting concentrations in the atmosphere that are 10 times the amount declared by countries in their reports. Scientists say this is not all coming from countries like India, China and South Korea.

Much more in article....