Synthetic Heat Transfer Fluids: Alternative to Steam in Chemical Industries – A Review

The review compared the performance of steam to that of the alternative heat transfer fluids. Steam is a cheaper conventional heat transfer material produced from water that is readily available in nature. It can be operated at temperatures as high as 350 °C and are effective for high-temperature process operations. However, corrosivity, especially at high temperatures and its impacts on metals and plant equipment during operations, poses a significant problem to steam application. In addition, thermal stability becomes an issue at higher temperatures. This review covered alternative heat transfer fluids that operate at higher temperatures with high thermal stability over a long period. The study found that alternative transfer fluids such as synthetic aromatic heat transfer fluids are more suitable and effective in industrial plants at high temperatures. The suitability is because of its high thermal stability, anti-coking, anti-oxidation, and anti-corrosion properties. A commercial synthetic organic heat transfer fluid made up of a eutectic mixture of diphenyl oxide and biphenyl was an effective heat transfer source at temperatures up to 400 °C without undergoing thermal degradation. The review successfully identified the most efficient alternative to steam in operations that require heat transfer fluids in the chemical industry.