Turbine Oil Cleaning Systems

At the moment Turbine Oils are cleaned by centrifuges which remove contamination and free water. Then, why do we need the KLAROL Oil Purifier for cleaning turbine oils ? A centrifuge cannot remove emulsified water from turbine oils, which acts as a catalyst to increase oxidation, causes foaming in oils and reduces component life. One of the major problems of continuous water presence in the oil is formation of varnish which is a thin, insoluble film deposit that is usually found on bearings and servo-valves. It is a high molecular weight substance that is insoluble in oil. Varnish insoluble are more than 75 percent soft contaminants that are less than 1 micron in size and are not measured by traditional particle counts. Insoluble compounds have polar affinities and, over time, begin to migrate from the body of the base oil to machine surfaces. Initially, the surfaces start to show a golden / dark brown color which then changes to darker gum layers that hardens into lacquer. Varnish cannot be removed by a centrifuge. It can choke turbine oil filters,servo pencil filters, reduce bearing life, cause servo and directional valves to stick and fail and can even cause turbine shut-down. Varnish’s propensity to attract dirt and solid particle contaminants increases component wear. Varnish’s insulation effect causes loss of heat transfer in heat exchangers.

KLAROL cleans oil in two stages using three different methods. In the first stage oil enters the KLAROL depth filter to be cleaned by Absorbtion. All solid contaminants upto five microns are removed in this stage. The oil then passes at a controlled flow rate into the KLAROL evaporation chamber which is heated to ensure a dry airspace. Controlling the flow of oil through KLAROL ensures formation of thin oil film in the evaporation chamber. These conditions, i.e. Dry airspace and thin film condition are ideal to evaporate moisture, lower oxidized molecules of oil, air & gases from the oil. Purified oil then goes back into the parent tank. The KLAROL fibre glass depth filter removes insoluble contamination like sludge, varnish, and particles smaller than a micron by Adsorption i.e. (attracting and trapping the contamination in its filtering medium) when oil is continuously cycled through KLAROL. The KLAROL Oil Cleaning Systems are designed to remove contamination in stages and the continuous cycling of oil through it ensures that the smallest size contaminants are removed to provide super-clean oil in the parent machine.

KLAROL Oil Purifying machines should be installed permanently on all turbines specially steam and hydro with high probability of water contamination. Water and metal contamination act as catalyst to increase oxidation in turbine oils. This leads to formation of sludge and varnish which choke servo pencil filters and cause sticking of valves thereby resulting in turbine shut downs. Studies by Timken bearing company reveal that even 100 ppm of water can decrease bearing life considerably. Installing a KLAROL system permanently to continuously clean oil while it is in operation ensures that the oil is always free of water and metal contaminants. Continuous cleaning of the oil also ensures removal of the by products of oxidation which not only polymerise into sludge and varnish but with water and metal as catalyst further increase oxidation of the oil. Installing KLAROL permanently on a turbine oil tank to continuously clean oil would help in maintaining the cleanliness level of oil at NAS 4 at all times. KLAROL Oil Cleaning Systems should specially be permanently installed on oil tanks which supply oil to the turbine governing system. Continuous removal of sludge and varnish and reducing further generation of the same, by Klarol, would prevent choking of the servo pencil filters and sticking of valves thereby ensuring smooth turbine operation.