New Generation Heat Transfer Fluids

For over 30 years, heat transfer fluids have been used to transfer energy in industrial processes. To be efficient and resilient at high temperatures, the fluid must have a high viscosity to show a moderate flash point, which is quite complicated to maintain. Any alteration in heat transfer fluids might cause disruption of the entire production.

Tackling efficiency challenges with new generation heat transfer fluids

Ensuring your heat transfer fluid is performing optimally is essential to a safe and efficient operation of your processing installation.

Driven by this challenge, within recent years CALDIC with its own brand Caltherm has developed a new generation of heat transfer fluid with high flash point and moderate viscosity. The low viscosity facilitates the circulation of the fluid inside the pipe and saves energy. In addition, the new generation heat transfer fluids are safer for humans and the environment.

The new product meets the current requirements of the pharmaceutical, chemical synthesis and food industry sectors (in compliance with the general requirements of the framework regulation 1935/2004, Section 3 and FDA CFR §178.3620).

To recommend the Caltherm solution that best addresses customer requirements - whether that be technical, safety or cost-effectiveness - we start by taking stock of the current situation via an on-site inspection to identify potential issues, or by analyzing the current fluid supported by an external laboratory. The outcomes of this diagnosis enable us to advise a customized Caltherm HTF solution, for today and for the future.

"Our new generation heat transfer fluid solutions combined with our technical expertise, know-how of the industrial installation and wide range of supporting products and services, enables us to help you drive your operational plant efficiency for a more sustainable future."

Eric Cousinié

Caltherm Brand Manager

Success story from the field

For more than 30 years, a customer has been using mineral oil with the following properties on the datasheet: a flash point at 294°C, viscosity at 40 °C of 490 cSt and a pour point at -6°C. The operating range is between 0 and 260°C.

With the aging of the fluid, the customer has observed that the different parameters changed. In particular, he noticed that viscosity has been slowly increasing. Thus, the customer has experienced a reduction of efficiency due to this issue, discovered during the maintenance when he encountered difficulties in restarting the process at low temperatures.

To overcome this challenge, the customer had to heat the pipe with an electrical system to reduce the viscosity of the fluid in order to restart the process.

After carefully studying the customer's case, Caltherm Team defined two options that would meet the customer system needs in the best possible way. Those are Caltherm SYN FC (synthetic technology) with a flash point at 257°C and viscosity at 40 °C of 49 cSt, and Caltherm S1050 (silicon technology) with a flash point at 318°C and viscosity at 40 °C of 38 cSt.

Ultimately, the customer has chosen Caltherm S1050 to keep the flash point higher than the process temperature. Due to the much lower viscosity, the fluid circulation will be easier in the pipe, preventing unexpected issues when restarting the process.

"The power of Caltherm lies in the support we can provide and our tailor-made solutions. By working safely and closely with our customers, we can offer future proof solutions, like a range of new generation heat transfer fluids, meeting your operational needs and helping you to tackle recent challenges".

Christophe Mougel.

Christophe Mougel

Research Development & Innovation at Caltherm

Caltherm is an extensive range of high-quality thermal fluids providing solutions for use across pharmaceutical, food, chemical, oil & gas, solar power, and more processing industries.

Offering excellent compatibility and seamless blending properties, Caltherm products can be smoothly incorporated into virtually any processing environment as an alternative or tailor-made heat transfer fluid. While capable of handling temperatures as low as -100 °C up to a high of +400 °C, Caltherm’s reliable solutions fulfill efficiency, operational and safety needs and simultaneously address regulatory and environmental requirements.

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