Tag Archives: oil purification unit

Industrial Oil Sales: Preserving the Oil’s Performance Characteristics

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So, you have decided to sell industrial oil?  Let’s assume that you already have found a storage facility for the product.  One thing remains however, knowing what the consumer needs and how to provide that need.

Besides better terms of supply, lower price, and various discounts, the client is mostly interested in the quality of the product.  Industrial oil quality in our case.  The quality is a combination of many parameters and characteristics that must not fall below regulated specifications during storage, transportation and operation.

Let us look into the characteristics, which define the quality of industrial oil and are important for the client’s choice:

  • Viscosity.  This is the first thing to consider about oil.  It is very important for the use of the majority of industrial oils.  When friction parts are designed and calculated, the parameter taken into consideration is the dynamic viscosity of the oil.  This is a regulated parameter of all oil made from crude base stock.  Dynamic viscosity used be defined at between 50ºС/122ºF and 100ºС/212ºF. That has changed and now all measurements are made according to ISO 3448-75 (instead of measuring viscosity at 50ºС/122ºF, the reference temperature is now 40ºС/104ºF).  When choosing industrial oil, the buyer usually considers three critical viscosity values: optimal at working temperature, minimal at maximum working temperature and maximum at the lowest working temperature;
  • Pour Point. This parameter is defined by testing a sample of the oil.  The Pour Point is the lowest temperature that the oil will continue to flow.  This temperature does not entirely indicate the dynamics of the oil in operating conditions at low temperatures.  That is shown better by actual viscosity at a given temperature. To reduce the pour point of industrial oil, it is mixed with special additives. This parameter is meaningful to the buyer planning his storage operations, dispatch, and draining and for using the oil in low temperature environments;
  • Flashpoint. This is the temperature at which the vapor of the oil can form a flammable mixture with the air. It defines the relative fire hazard of the oil and shows the presence of volatile fractions within it.  It is measured in special open or closed type devices;
  • Ash content. This parameter indicates the amount of non-organic contaminants left after burning a sample of the industrial oil. It is expressed in percentage of weight.  If ash content of oil without additives is too high, it indicates insufficient purification.  In most cases, ash content of industrial oil is from 0.002% to 0.4%;
  • Content of particulate matter, solvents, water, water-soluble acids and bases. This indication is extremely important in controlling the oil quality after production as well as determination of its further usability.  Mobile oil purification units for treatment and regeneration of oil can significantly increase the service life of the oil and improve reliability of machinery;

In practice, GlobeCore products are used for the purification and regeneration of industrial oil.

  • Color.  The color is a visual indication of the purity of industrial oil.  It also allows the buyer to make a judgment on the oil’s origins.  Keep in mind that some additives can make the oil darker.  If the color of the oil changes during use however, this is an indirect indication of its oxidation and/or contamination;
  • Acid number. Knowing this important neutralization number allows the buyer to determine the oil’s purity as well as the stability in use and in storage.  Additives can increase the acidity of the oil, but can also increase the stability of oil for long term use and storage;
  • Sulfur content.  The amount of sulfur initially depends on the amount of sulfur in the crude base stock the oil was blended from and the degree of purification and refinement.  After purification of industrial oils made from sour crude, sulfur remains in the oil in organic compounds and under normal conditions does not cause corrosion of metals.  Sulfur may become aggressive in elevated temperatures.  The content of sulfuric compounds is higher in oil with additives. This is due to the fact that additives containing sulfur are mixed with industrial oil to increase their lubrication qualities.

Buying and Storing Transformer Oil

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Purchasing transformer oil is an important financial decision for your company.  It should be done very responsibly.

First, the buyer must a choose a brand of oil.  This requires careful consideration based on the type of equipment being used and the operating conditions the oil and the oil’s abilty to meet those conditions.

Second, the cost of the oil must be considered.  A small price difference in the cost of just one liter small can turn into a significant amount of money when purchasing a large volume of oil.

There are no universal recommendations for buying transformer oil. There are however, online services allowing buyers to compare transformer oil prices from various suppliers.  It is up to the buyer to research and choose a reliable wholesale distributor or retailer.

If you have already purchased transformer oil that meets the correct specifications and quality standards, then it is time to think about oil storage.

The practical way to store the oil is to use clean and dry, steel air tight vessels.  The tanks are usually coated with an oil resistant material inside.  The outside of the tanks should have anticorrosion and light reflecting coating.  The acceptable range of temperatures for storage of transformer oil is -40ºС to +60ºС/-40ºF to +140ºF.

The vessels should be equipped with valves for filling and draining as well as a manhole for cleaning, inspection and repairs.  Breathing systems must be equipped with silica gel or zeolite cartridges that can be monitored by special monitoring devices.

Three days after putting the oil into a storage tank, samples are normally taken for laboratory analysis.  Transformer oil in storage should be tested at least once a year for the following parameters:

  •  flashpoint;
  • dielectric strength at 90ºC/194ºF;
  • water extract reaction;
  • acid neutralization number;
  • particulate matter content in mircons; and
  • free water and moisture content.

It is also recommended to test the dissipation factor at 90ºС/194ºF at least once a year.

Each time the oil is tested for quality and purity, the results must comply with the parameters of fresh transformer oil regardless of the length of storage. Otherwise, the oil must be purified and regenerated to restore the oil to its new and clean condition.

GlobeCore offers a line of oil purification units under the CMM classification. These units improve color, remove acids, bases, and other aging products from any turbine, dielectric insulating oil, and industrial oils.

One of the advantages of the GlobeCore CMM line of units is their ability to regenerate oil on an energized transformer.  Another important advantage is the ability to reactive the fuller’s earth sorbent inside the unit many times over, reducing downtime for sorbent replacement and replenishment.

After the processing of transformer oil with GlobeCore equipment, transformer insulating oil is restored to an as good as new condition.

Purchasing a GlobeCore CMM unit gives you a modern efficient machine that is easy to operate and service.  The use of GlobeCore equipment and GlobeCore Process will extend the service life of the oil and the transformer significantly.

Oil filtration

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During operation, transformer oil accumulate contaminants, which can form various chemicals. These substances reduce the oil’s performance and are, of course, undesirable.

Operation of the transformer becomes unstable. To prevent this, transformer oil is filtered and purified. Some of the methods are discussed in more detail below.

The first stage of transformer oil purification is mechanical. This is a superficial treatment to remove particulate matter and water. The next step is deeper purification performed in vacuum with heating.

The first two stages are, in fact, preliminary. The main process involves various chemicals.

One of the methods is purification of oil with a 98% sulfuric acid solution.

In comparison to other chemical purification methods, the use of sulfuric acid has a significant drawback. Beside reacting with the contaminants, the acid also adversely influecnes the structure of the oil, making it somewhat unstable. Additional processes are required to resolve that problem.

The nature of selective purification is evident from the title. Speical solvents are introduced into the oil to remove specific impurities.

De-waxing is another widely accepted process. In this process, oil is treated with special solvents: acetone, toluene, bensol etc, to remove solid contaminants.

It should be noted that chemical methods influence oil’s stability, but extend the oil’s service life at the same time.

It should also be remembered that any purification process should end with finishing purification, closing the cycle of oil processing and filtration. This is usually done by contact method.

This means that the oil is mixed with special materials, usually clay or bleaching earth. The materials are then mixed and heated. Heating facilitates acviation of all sorbents in the clay.

These absorbents capture contaminants. Deep filtration separates oil from the clay. When selecting adsorbent, it is necessary to pay attention to the content of moisture. It should be suffucient to make production efficient and to make processed oil compliant with specifications.

The most interesting technology today involves the use of bleaching clays (Fuller’s earth). Globecore manufactures a range of CMM type units for filtration of various oils with the use of Fuller’s earth. The advantages of the design are the ability of multiple reactivation of the sorbent, mobility, simplicity of operation and high quality of the output product.

Downtime is significantly reduced by the ability to reactivate the sorbent without the need for frequent replacement, thus increasing process efficiency.