Inert greases have a number of different uses, both industrial and in the chemical field. These greases have a number of useful properties which make them ideal in a number of situations, in some cases making them vastly superior to existing alternatives. What follows is an overview of exactly what inert greases are as well as some of the varied uses for them in industry and chemistry; keep in mind that these are not all of the ways in which inert greases can be used, but are instead just the most common.
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What Inert Greases Are
Unlike some other lubrication options, inert greases are not flammable nor are they able to react chemically with highly reactive metals or other materials. These greases are rendered chemically inert by saturating them with halogen, a process which blocks them from being able to react with other materials (even those which tend to react readily with most materials.) This saturation process also gives the grease a number of other properties such as the ability to maintain its structural integrity even at high temperatures, a high density, a low compression under pressure, and a significant resistance to breaking down when electricity is applied to it.
Industrial Uses
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Inert greases are used by industry largely to take advantage of the inflammability, resistance to thermal breakdown, resistance to compression, and resistance to breakdown caused by electrical current. Many of these properties are valued in combination, but because of the versatility of inert grease some industrial uses prefer certain properties individually.
Industries which deal with large quantities of heat such as metal works and manufacturing usually value inert greases because they aren’t going to catch on fire even when temperatures get high. Along the same lines, the resistance to thermal breakdown is a valuable asset because it prevents the lubrication that the grease provides from thinning as it breaks down at high temperatures (meaning that less grease needs to be used and greatly reducing the chance of machinery breaking down because of insufficient lubrication.)
A number of industries also make use of inert greases in order to help with the lubrication or functioning of hydraulic systems. The density and resistance to compression helps to keep the hydraulic system working correctly while keeping the necessary resistance in the system even under extreme pressure.
Chemistry Uses
Just as industry makes use of inert greases for a number of purposes, chemists and labs make use of these greases for a variety of reasons. In addition to providing the same resistance to heat and thermal breakdown that industry makes use of, the resistance to chemical reaction is of prime importance in these situations. A number of materials which are used by chemists react easily with common elements, and many types of lubrication can’t be used with them for fear of reaction. Inert greases can even be used to help protect these materials from elements in the air that they might react with, since the grease can be used as a coating to keep air from contacting the materials while not reacting with the materials itself.
Electronics and Computer Uses
Inert greases can be very useful in lubricating moving parts in electronic devices and computers, since they are generally unaffected by electrical fields or currents because of their high resistance to electrical breakdown. Since the inert grease won’t react with the metals in the electronic devices, they also eliminate the chance that the lubrication used might cause rust or other forms of oxidation which could damage the device or significantly reduce its working lifespan.
Other Uses
In addition to the uses mentioned above, inert greases can be used as a lubricant in most any situation. Pretty much any petroleum-based grease that you might use around the house can be replaced with inert grease, in many cases providing an increased performance over the petroleum-based version. Because the grease doesn’t have the same reliance on fossil fuels as some other greases; this can be very useful for individuals, businesses, and industries who are trying to reduce their carbon footprint and use polymer-based solutions instead of petroleum- or carbon-based solutions. With the rising costs of petroleum, this can also result in a significantly reduced cost when choosing lubricants because the polymer-based inert grease won’t suffer as large of an increase in price as those which are based directly off of petroleum products.
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