The Most Powerful Greenhouse Gas Known to Man
This one is worse than methane. Methane is known to be 30 times more potent as a greenhouse gas then CO2. But sulphur hexafluoride, or SF6, beats it out of the park, it is 23,500 times more warming than CO2.
It is colourless, odourless, synthetic gas. It makes a hugely effective insulating material for medium and high-voltage electrical installations. It is widely used in the electrical industry to prevent short circuits and accidents.
Compared to the past, there are more connections to the electricity grid, and a rise in the number of electrical switches and circuit breakers that are needed to prevent serious accidents. Collectively, these safety devices are called switchgear. The vast majority use SF6 gas to quench arcs and stop short circuits.
“As renewable projects are getting bigger and bigger, we have had to use it within wind turbines specifically … “ says engineer in the post above.