Just a little more on decomposition products - solid residues would likely
mostly be insoluble flourides, so not too much concern unless you eat or
inhale it ... the byproducts to be concerned about are the gaseous ones
formed by subjected sf6 to an electric arc. Apart from HF as Jim has
mentioned, the other main one is s2f10 (disulfur decaflouride) which is
about as poisonous as phosgene, and SF4, also extremely toxic.
-----Original Message-----
From: tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Jim Lux
Sent: Friday, 8 November 2013 3:51 PM
To: Tesla Coil Mailing List
Subject: Re: [TCML] Sf6 byproducts
On 11/7/13 7:51 PM, jhowson4@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Hey everyone,
> We use sf6 filled sparkgaps at work (10 psi), the insides after much use
are coated in a white powdery substance.
> Can anyone tell me what this substance is, and how toxic it is.
>
It's typically some fluoride compound, and like all fluorides, it's
moderately toxic (not instant death, but don't go sprinkling it on your
popcorn). A bigger issue might be that it forms a fairly corrosive mixture
if it gets wet.
BTW, SF6 in some cases will form HF (hydrogen from water or the enclosure),
which is truly nasty stuff. In a small spark gap, the volume is small so
unlikely to be an issue. In a big system, it might not be so fun.
http://www.epa.gov/electricpower-sf6/documents/sf6_byproducts.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/electricpower-sf6/documents/conf06_averyt.pdf
SF6 is great stuff.. pretty inert as it comes, great insulator, good
quenching, non-toxic. But gosh, it has all that fluorine in it, so
decomposition and reaction products are ugly. Halogens are the root of much
evil, when it comes to haz mat.
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