Lubrication of oxygen carrying devices

In the medical sector, many applications are likely to have oxygen contact. Think of valves, hose couplings, and any other installation carrying gaseous and liquid oxygen. These medical devices need to be lubricated to assure functionality and prevent friction that can cause tissue damage.

During the process of lubrication of high-pressure oxygen devices and valves, it is important that lubricants are non-toxic and resistant to pure, highly pressurised oxygen and high-pressure oxygen impacts. Using less inert lubricants may lead to fire and severe explosions.

To meet these high requirements, especially at high pressure, lubricants based on PFAS - in this case per-fluorinated polyether oils (PFPE) - are used. High-performance PFAS lubricants are designed for extended life-time or even for-life lubrication. They are helping companies to prolong the lifetime of their own technical products as well as their production equipment, as such they contribute to the sustainability ambitions set out in the EU Green Deal.

These high price lubricants are only used when there is no technological alternative or need to assure high safety standards (avoidance of explosion risks and health safety). Therefore, the used amounts are kept in general as low as possible.