Abstract
Environmental impact of human activities has become a great concern in most of the countries world-wide, and for years. It has recently focused on potential climate changes due to the increase of green house gases content in the atmosphere. One of these gases is $SF_6$, which is an essential material in electrical applications having excellent dielectric and arc-quenching properties. Though the actual contribution of $SF_6$ to global warming is negligible at present, the control of $SF_6$ emissions seems to be nevertheless imperative. Actually, it is listed in the Kyoto protocol that emissions should not only be duly reported but also the electrical industry which is now the major user of this gas must be able to show that it is possible to use this gas and at the same time preserve the environment. For the development of environmentally-benign electric power equipment and systems, novel gases or gas mixtures are strongly required as the alternatives of $SF_6$ gas. Until now, most research work is focused on the $SF_6/N_2$ mixed gas which is suitable for application in the electrical apparatus with slightly non-uniform fields. Recently, $SF_6/CO_2$ mixed gas also is expected to be promising as a $SF_6$ alternative, especially in highly non-uniform fields and in a gas-impregnated film insulation system. Including these results, the author reviews the research trend or reducing the environmental impact of $SF_6$ gas in this paper.
