Aside from outstanding chemical inertness and mechanical strength, fluoropolymers are also known to have good weather resistance, good flexibility, good electrical properties, and low friction. They have been used to make seals, gaskets, tubing, valve parts, coatings, and hose. Fluoropolymers, however, are very difficult to process, and may produce hazardous decomposition products.
In the oil and gas industry, fluoropolymers are mainly used as linings and protective coatings for metallic equipment and pipes to prevent corrosion and contamination of oil products. Their main advantages over other polymers are their low coefficient of friction, nonstick property, chemical inertness, high thermal stability, and low surface energy. Thus, fluoropolymer coatings are hydrophobic in nature and can reduce the deposition of organic and inorganic scales (e.g., BaSO4 and CaCO3) in production tubular and specifically minimize asphaltene deposition and precipitation in reservoirs and pipelines during oil production Because of their superior protective properties.
fluoropolymer coatings are essentially the choice of material for metal protection against aggressive chemicals, mechanical abrasion, wear and tear, and high-temperature environments, all of which, if not circumvented, may result in catastrophic corrosion-related accidents. . Fluoropolymers have also been used as sealants and O-rings.
We are a leading producer of fluoropolymers with Teflon® (PTFE) as our most popular product. Because of its high temperature tolerance, Teflon® is ideal for jacketing, insulation, and coatings for high temperature operating equipment in oil and gas (e.g., heat exchangers). It is noteworthy that improper selection of coating materials for heat exchanging equipment may reduce the effectiveness of heat transfer process and cause surface erosion and fouling. We also sell ETFE, with combined mechanical toughness and outstanding chemical inertness.
We also sell fluoropolymer products including ECTFE, a copolymer of ethylene and chlorotrifluoroethylene, and PFA both semicrystalline and fully fluorinated melt processable fluoropolymers. Current research efforts are geared toward understanding the structure-property relationship for further improvement on the mechanical performance and protective action of fluoropolymers against abrasion and harsh environment. Saffarini et al. evaluated the wetting behavior of three 0.2-μm commercial expanded PTFE membranes under membrane distillation conditions. Results showed that increase in temperature led to the relaxation of the internal stresses in the fibrils of the PTFE membrane. As a consequence, a temperature-dependent geometric correction factor in the Laplace (Cantor) formulation of liquid entry pressure estimation is recommended to predict the wetting of PTFE membranes under non-isothermal conditions. Also, there is a growing interest in understanding how nanofillers can improve the wear resistance of PTFE. Ye et al. used uninterrupted microscopy measurements to study the evolution of transfer film development for an ultra-low wear PTFE nanocomposite.
It was observed that the detectible debris vanished, and the wear rates approached zero, both of which are due to the transfer of nanoscale and oxidized fragments of PTFE on the counter face. The study further revealed a complex interplay among the elements of transfer film adhesion, chemistry, debris morphology, and mechanics in the wear of PTFE nanocomposites. When fluoropolymers are subject to extreme temperatures, thermal decomposition fragments are produced. Myers et al. used ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and mass defect filtering to identify the thermal decomposition products, which could environmentally be persistent and toxic. With these techniques, 29 per halogenated carboxylic acid and 21 chlorine/fluorine substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon congener classes of thermal decomposition products of PCTFE have been identified.