OG&E develops a comprehensive program to conserve and recycle SF6 gas. When SF6 was first used as an insulating medium in high-voltage switchgear, it was considered to be an almost perfect dielectric. It was nontoxic, and it would not support combustion. The gas is very efficient as an arc suppressor, as it is capable of smothering electric discharges at their inception. Even though SF6 can be broken down into a smaller molecular form during the arc-quenching episode, these molecules return to their original state when the arc terminates, allowing the gas to retain all of its favorable characteristics. However, some serious drawbacks do exist.

An article, published in the ...