This is a research made by professionals to explain how activated bentonite material helps in transformer oil purification. The use of activated bentonite to treat transformer oil is mostly recommended option by professionals for old transformer oil enhanced breakdown voltage, total acidity, water content, and flash point. This treatment is ideal for aged transformer oil due to its environmental and economic advantages.
Transformers are essential or key equipments used as an insulation and heat transfer medium. One can enhance the insulation system in transformers by using new high grade dielectric fluids. Oil immersed distribution transformers can be constructed with very low losses as compared to dry type models. This fact is known to every use as oil is a better cooling and insulation medium in contrast to air.
Transformer oil is a cooling and insulating material that not only fills up the pores in the fibrous insulation, like paper, but also the gaps between the winding turns and spacing between the tank and winding. The oil functions as a dielectric and cooling medium for transformer.
Traditionally, people have been using mineral oil, synthetic esters, and silicon oils in the transformer. But recently, environmental friendly sunflower oil is being used by transformer users for special purposes.
The insulation system inside the power transformer degrades under usual operating conditions as compared to higher temperature, oxidation, and higher moisture. The durability of the transformer is critically influenced by the condition of solid insulation.
What methods are used to prepare and activate Bentonite?
- Raw material Bentonite is grinded softly.
- Once it is grinded, concentrated acid is added to the Bentonite.
- Raising the temperature of the mixture up to 70 degrees Celsius with rapid stirring for 30 minutes.
- Let the mixture cool and then wash through filters for several times till neutralization, and let it dry.
- Regrind the activated Bentonite material to a fine grade of softness.
Why you must follow this activation process?
There are certain advantages of using this activation process-
- Increasing the Bentonite grains surface area to become absorber for impurities, suspended matters, and contaminants of used transformer oil.
- Replacing calcium, sodium, and potassium with hydrogen ions in the material lattice structure.
When you add the activated Bentonite material to the filtered transformer oil using a treatment unit, all oil properties have been measured. The treated transformer oil properties were determined in two periods of aging (half year and one year).
Used transformer oil is hazardous for environment as many chemical reactions, toxicity, flammability and ability of explosion present in it. Aged transformers oil has some toxic chemicals due to contamination and activated Bentonite helps you in treating this aged transformer oil by cutting down the content of heavy metals, phenol, and other special synthetic transformers oil.
So, leading manufacturers have just shared ways to enhance transformer oil purification process using activated Bentonite. You can follow the instructions as discussed in this post by experts. For doubts or query, leave your comments in below section.
