US-12624269-B2 - Heat transfer fluids comprising isomeric branched paraffin dimers derived from linear alpha olefins and use thereof

Abstract

Branched paraffins formed as a hydrogenated reaction product of one or more linear alpha olefins (LAOs) oligomerized with a BF; catalyst system and comprising at least about 90 wt. % branched paraffin dimers may have advantageous heat transfer properties. Heat transfer fluids comprising the branched paraffins may be placed in contact with a heat-generating component, such as those found in electric vehicles, battery systems, and other locations in need of thermal management. Branched paraffin dimers formed from one or more LAOs having about 8 to about 12 carbon atoms may collectively have a Mouromtseff Number ranging from about 10,000 to about 16,000 kg/(s 2.2 ·m 0.6 ·K) at 80° C. a thermal conductivity at 80° C. of about 0.125 W/m·K or higher, and a flash point of about 140° C. or higher.

Inventors

• Anatoly I. Kramer
• Jorg F.W. Weber
• Kyle G. Lewis
• Behrouz Engheta
• Heinrich R. Braun
• Tobias Klande
• Mark P. Hagemeister

Assignees

• EXXONMOBIL CHEMICAL PATENTS INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20210928

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A battery system comprising: a battery; and a heat transfer, wherein the heat transfer fluid includes, a plurality of isomeric branched paraffins comprising a hydrogenated reaction product of one or more linear alpha olefins (LAOs) oligomerized with a BF 3 catalyst system, the plurality of isomeric branched paraffins comprising at least about 90 wt. % isomeric branched paraffin dimers, wherein the one or more LAOs have about 8 to about 12 carbon atoms, and wherein the plurality of isomeric branched paraffins collectively have a Mouromtseff Number of about 10,000 to about 16,000 kg/(s 2.2 ·m 0.6 ·K) at 80° C., a thermal conductivity at 80° C. of about 0.125 W/m·K or higher, and a flash point of about 140° C. or higher.
2. 2 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid comprises a plurality of isomeric branched paraffin dimers formed from a C 10 LAO.
3. 3 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid comprises at least about 90 wt. % isomeric branched paraffin dimers formed from a C 10 LAO.
4. 4 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid further comprises: a plurality of isomeric branched paraffin trimers formed from oligomerization of the one or more LAOs with the BF 3 catalyst system.
5. 5 . The battery system of claim 4 , wherein the heat transfer fluid comprises a plurality of isomeric branched paraffin trimers formed from a C 10 LAO.
6. 6 . The battery system of claim 4 , wherein about 0.5 wt. % to about 2 wt. % of the isomeric branched paraffin trimers is present.
7. 7 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid further comprises: at least one fluid selected from the group consisting of a Group I base oil, a Group II base oil, a Group III base oil, a Group IV base oil, a Group V base oil, and any combination thereof.
8. 8 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid further comprises: at least one fluid selected from the group consisting of an aromatic hydrocarbon, a polyalphaolefin, a paraffin, an isoparaffin, ester, an ether, a Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) base oil, a Fischer-Tropsch wax-derived base oil, a wax-derived hydroisomerized base oil, a silicone oil, and any combination thereof.
9. 9 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid further comprises: one or more additives selected from the group consisting of an antioxidant, a corrosion inhibitor, an antifoam agent, an antiwear additive, a dispersant, a detergent, a viscosity modifier, and any combination thereof.
10. 10 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein corrosion-causing ions are substantially absent from the plurality of isomeric branched paraffins.
11. 11 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid further comprises: at least about 0.25 wt. % of at least one phenol-based antioxidant, and at least about 0.1 wt. % of at least one amine-based antioxidant.
12. 12 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid further comprises: at least about 0.5 wt. % of at least one phenol-based antioxidant, and at least about 0.2 wt. % of at least one amine-based antioxidant.
13. 13 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid is in contact with an outer surface of the battery.
14. 14 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the battery is at least partially immersed in the heat transfer fluid.
15. 15 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the battery comprises a plurality of interior channels configured for circulating the heat transfer fluid.
16. 16 . The battery system of claim 1 , further comprising: a heat-dissipating structure in fluid communication with the heat transfer fluid.
17. 17 . The battery system of claim 16 , wherein the battery system is configured to circulate the heat transfer fluid between the battery and the heat-dissipating structure.
18. 18 . The battery system of claim 1 , wherein the battery is a lithium-ion battery.
19. 19 . An electric vehicle comprising: a heat-generating component; and the battery system of claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer fluid is in contact with the heat-generating component.
20. 20 . The electric vehicle of claim 19 , wherein the heat transfer fluid is in contact with an outer surface of the heat-generating component.

Description

PRIORITY This application is a National Phase Application claiming priority to PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US2021/052479 filed Sep. 28, 2021, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/089,501, filed Oct. 8, 2020, the disclosure of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/089,501 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/089,501, filed Oct. 8, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD The present disclosure relates to heat transfer fluids, and methods for their production and use. BACKGROUND In the electric vehicle industry, numerous advances in battery technology have been made in recent years to promote greater power delivery and decreased charging frequency. Among the advancements needed to progress electric vehicle technology further is the development of more effective cooling systems for promoting heat transfer from various electric vehicle (EV) components. Particular components of electric vehicles that may be in need of improved heat transfer include, for example, one or more batteries, axles, EV power electronics, and/or an electric motor. Rapid charging stations for electric vehicles may similarly be in need of efficient cooling. While the components of an electric vehicle may be cooled to varying degrees using conventional jacketed cooling fluids and technology, such as aqueous glycol solutions also used in conjunction with internal combustion engines, effective cooling of the batteries of an electric vehicle through direct cooling fluid contact represents an entirely different challenge. All batteries generate heat as they charge or discharge. The more rapid the rate of charge or discharge becomes, the greater the amount of heat generated per unit time. For small batteries, exposure to ambient atmosphere may effectively dissipate the discharged heat, such that separate cooling systems are not required. In electric vehicles, the large battery size and the rapid discharge rates needed to ensure satisfactory vehicle performance make heat dissipation much more of a concern. Likewise, rapid battery charging at electric vehicle recharging stations may also result in significant battery heating and present similar thermal management issues. In addition to influencing or governing vehicle performance, battery temperatures outside a preferred operating range, typically from about 15° C. to 35° C. for lithium-ion batteries, may negatively impact the battery's performance. Internal temperature gradients between the various cells of a battery may similarly impact the battery's performance. Moreover, in addition to poor battery or vehicle performance, operating a battery outside a preferred temperature range and/or with an internal thermal gradient may increase the risk for battery failure, runaway overheating, fire and/or explosion. Therefore, effective thermal management during battery charge or discharge and vehicle operation may become a limiting factor in how much the performance of electric vehicles may be further advanced. Current strategies for cooling the batteries of an electric vehicle may employ one or more of a phase change material, heat-dissipating fins, or air cooling. Each of these approaches may have significant limitations, either in terms of the quantity of heat they are able to dissipate directly from the battery and/or due to their impact upon vehicle performance. Heat-dissipating fins, for example, introduce excess weight that must be carried by the vehicle as it travels, thereby lowering the vehicle's efficiency and performance. Cooling systems employing a heat transfer fluid are another heat-dissipating strategy that may be employed for batteries and other heat-generating components of electric vehicles. Since fluids may exhibit higher thermal conductivity and heat capacity values than air, fluids may promote more effective heat dissipation from a battery or other heat-generating component than do other heat-dissipating strategies. Moreover, a fluid may be placed in direct surface contact with a battery, electric motor or other heat-generating component to promote optimal heat transfer, including configurations in which the heat-generating component is partially or fully immersed in the heat transfer fluid. For example, direct immersive cooling of this sort may help reduce the risk of uncontrolled thermal runaway within battery modules in which one battery cell is compromised through short circuiting or physical damage. Alternately, a suitable heat transfer fluid may be jacketed around and/or circulated through a heat-generating component, such as a battery or EV power component. While immersion or partial immersion of a heat-generating component in a heat transfer fluid may afford optimal heat transfer, many heat transfer fluids presently in common use are unsuitable for immersion of batteries and/or e