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Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)

Sulfur hexafluoride is a colorless, odorless, inflammable gas with a molecular structure consisting of one sulfur atom and six fluorine atoms. SF6 is naturally present in fluorite rocks, and outgassing contributes to an abundance of 4 pptv.

Applications

Sulfur hexafluoride is commonly used as an insulating gas in electrical equipment, including high-voltage circuit breakers, transformers, and switchgears. The gas leaks into the air when equipment is damaged or old with typically 90% lost to the atmosphere. The gas is also used as an etching agent in the semiconductor industry and in leak detection in magnesium production and parts casting: the gas prevents molten magnesium from oxidizing on contact with air. Sulfur hexafluoride is used as the pressurized bubble in 'air' running shoes. The atmospheric lifetime of sulfur hexafluoride is estimated to be 3,200 years.

SF6 and Climate Change

Anthropogenic emissions of sulfur hexafluoride exceed natural sources by a factor of 1000. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), sulfur hexafluoride has more than 20,000 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. During the 1990s, sulfur hexafluoride increased 7% annually. Sulfur hexafluoride also produces hybrid greenhouse gases such as SF5CF3, which has the largest radiative forcing per molecule of any greenhouse gas identified to date.

Detection

Our databases include one spectral absorption band of sulfur hexafluoride between from 940 and 953 cm-1. The following figure shows a linear radiative transfer through a laboratory cell containing sulfur hexafluoride at the frequency range 930-980  [cm-1] and at a resolution of 0.01, assuming room temperature and pressure.

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