There are several methods of regeneration (restoration) of used and contaminated transformer insulating oil.  Some of the methods include:  oil purification with zeolites cleaned in a filter press, cleaning and drying in a centrifuge, vacuum drying, and the adsorption process.

The “Adsorption Method” is the most effective and least complicated way of purifying and regenerating transformer insulating oil.  The essence of the process is the passage of oil through one layer of sorbent that retains moisture and harmful particles in just one treatment cycle.

The adsorbent method uses adsorbent materials that have a high level of filtration performance and are capable of holding molecules of several different substances.

The “Fuller’s Earth” adsorbent material is a very common kind of clay that has the ability to remove harmful contaminants from vegetable or mineral oils and fats.  The Fuller’s Earth adsorbent material has been accepted as the highest standard of filtering quality when using technologies designed for the recovery and purification of industrial oils.

The active components of Fuller’s Earth are widely used in petrochemical industries worldwide.  Additionally, Fuller’s Earth is quite successfully used in the construction and pharmaceutical industries as well thanks to the specific properties that enable the sorbent materials to adsorb and remove a wide range of unwanted fluids and contaminants.

In past centuries, the use of Fuller’s Earth was very different from the modern day usage of this unique and versatile material.  The initial application of Fuller’s Earth, for the extraction of oil and other fatty impurities from wool fabrics in the finishing process, gave Fuller’s Earth its modern name.  It also applies to the clay that can absorb harmful particles that serve as an antiseptic or bleach the fabric.
Fuller’s Earth was used for the first time in the United States for purification of vegetable oils in starting in 1878.  In modern day industry, Fuller’s Earth continues to be used to purify new transformer oil before being placed into service.  The Fuller’s Earth adsorbents can remove moisture, gases and other noxious particles from the insulating oils.   Using a Fuller’s Earth regeneration process is a perfect filtering medium for restoring the performance characteristics and properties of used and contaminated transformer insulating oils.

Not only do unwanted gases and moisture accumulate inside transformer oil, but so does insoluble particulate matter.  During the course of its operations, the electric power transformer will be subjected to the influences of high and low temperature extremes, unclean air, and water from the outside environment.  The exposure to these harsh environmental conditions promote the formation of sediments and sludge.

Microparticles that provoke and facilitate the oxidation process of oils become aggressive and dangerous for the transformer’s solid cellulose insulation.  These unwanted contaminants can freely pass through the various filters and attach themselves inside the solid insulation eventually destroying the very heart of the transformer.

The use of adsorbents, and in particular Fuller’s Earth, make it possible to prevent these harmful and unwanted contaminants from causing damage to the transformer’s solid insulation.  The GlobeCore Process, utilizing Fuller’s Earth, will completely stop the solid insulation degradation process, and if initiated early enough in your preventive maintenance program, will prevent it all together.

Thanks to sufficiently large surface pores found in Fuller’s Earth adsorbents, the Fuller’s Earth is fully capable of holding sulfonates, resins and asphaltenes with a high molecular weight.

Oil regeneration, using Fuller’s Earth, is a process is that removes the contaminated oil directly from the transformer.  It is fed to the regeneration unit for cleaning, processing and complete regeneration.  At the completion of the process, the oil is restored to new like condition.

The color of the oil itself is not the only defining characteristic of transformer insulating oil. It does however, work as an indicator of adverse or good changes in the oil. For example, if the color of the transformer oil has changed from yellow to orange or red, it indicates the oil is contaminated and might have a dangerous acid number.  A dangerous, high acid number means that the solid insulation could be damaged and  suffer a catastrophic failure.

A dark color can also indicate sludge that is formed as the oil slowly oxidizes due to water and other harmful contaminants increasing in volume in the unclean oil.  Once the contaminants become dissolved in the oil during the oxidation process, the oil’s color gradually changes to red.  The sludge deposits continue to oxidize and gradually harden and begin blocking the vents and insulating materials.

Before your transformer insulating oils become darkened, filled with sludge, and and harmful contaminants, is the time to clean the oils with a modern and efficient Fuller’s Earth oil processing system.  For complete purification and regeneration of your transformer insulating oils, the GlobeCore Process offers the most modern, efficient, and cost cost effective way of extending the service life of your electric power transformers.

It’s time to get with the Process.  The GlobeCore Process!

Oil regeneration  is one of the most modern and environmentally friendly technologies available today. Recycling of resources enjoys wide popularity because of increased prices for industrial resources and recycling preserves those resourses while protecting the environment.  The ever increasing efficiency of production and resource savings are achieved by re-using and restoring the original properties of the material that has been already used in the service of a desirable industrial process.

Oil regeneration is one of the newest and most desirable ways to protect the environment and improve profits for industries that rely upon large amounts of oils and fluids in providing their products and services.  Oil consumption, at different stages of production, results in significant financial expenditures for transportation, storage and disposal of used oil.  The factors listed above, if performed improperly, can damage the environment and result in “environmental” fines and sanctions.

In the not so distant past, the oil regeneration process was expensive and not very efficient.  Today however, there have been several technological breakthroughs that have made the oil regeneration process not only time and labor efficient, but highly cost effective as well.

For this purpose, companies working in the high-tech market have developed equipment as the result of long lasting studies and now market oil purification and regeneration machines based on those studies.

Special oil regeneration equipment provides the most efficient and cost effective way of oil purification and regeneration without exposing the oil to the outside air and without the risks involved in removing and disposing of the oil.  Additionally, this kind of equipment provides for the elimination of sediment and slime that may affect the regenerated oil.

The oil regeneration process allows companies to reduce the costs of performing preventive maintenance and can greatly reduce the need to perform corrective maintenance with regard to oil filled industrial equipment.

During the oil regeneration process, contaminants that accumulated in the oil during normal operating conditions are removed from the oil.  Some of these contaminants include unwanted resins, sediments and other oxidation products.

Sedimentation, filtration, drying, centrifical force, or regeneration processes have typicaly been used to remove unwanted contaminants.  These processes are performed by using such purifying agents as chemicals, filters, zeolites and sorbents.

The oil regeneration process normally includes several stages performed by a complex oil purification and regeneration machine.  Water is removed at the first stage of the purification process.  At the next stage, oil is filtered by passing the oil through different membranes or filtering mediums.

The use of chemicals in the regeneration process depends on the requirements of the oil regeneration and the performance characteristics of oil required by the industrial equipment.  The processing of oil in sorbent or zeolite blocks (where remaining water and minor contaminants are removed) is considered to be the final stage of the oil regeneration process.

The input and output of oil is done through flexable pipes.  The pipes are connected directly to the equipment’s oil tank, thereby ensuring an uninterrupted flow throughout the entire oil regeneration process.

In the oil purification and regeneration equipment market, a company can buy oil regeneration equipment of any design that will have different methods of purification.  There is one company however, that offers a wide range of oil processing equipment to meet the needs of any company that needs to perform maintenance on oil filled equipment.

GlobeCore is an industry leader in the manufactuer and sale of oil processing equipment.

It is well known that power transformers are widely used in the  transmission of electricity all over the world.  The availability of electric power transformers replaces a huge number of cables that would be tangled in a chaotic fashion visible from the street in communities all around the world.  Electric power transformers allow  electric companies to convert voltage by either stepping it up or down and directing it to smaller conductors and consumers.

When electric power transformers operate with alternating current, they will lose part of the transmitted energy  through what is known as “heat loss.”  Thus, without reducing energy losses from heat, the transmission process becomes increasingly inefficient.  In order to prevent a fault in the transmission system, dielectric insulating  liquid is used in transformers to remove heat and protect the transformer from breakdowns and failures.

Due to the chemical composition and good dielectric properties of high-quality transformer oil, it is capable of effectively cooling the internal systems of electric power equipment and prevents overheating,  failures, and breakdowns.

During its service life while under the influence of various internal and external factors, transformer oil will become oxidized.  The oil oxidation and aging process is due to thermal degradation as a result of water, moisture, air and particulate matter slowly contaminating the oil and solid insulation.

The oil’s viscosity coefficient determines not only the level of quality of the insulating oil, but also acts as an indicator of resistance to oxidation.  Due to active oxidation processes, oil gradually loses its performance characteristics that includes the ability to carry current (dielectric strength), and the ability to protect against electrical faults and short circuits.

After a certain period of time without the proper servicing, transformer oil can actually begin to hurt and cause damage to the solid insulation.  As the oil’s “Acid Number” increases, it will become aggressive towards the solid insulation contributing significantly to faults, breakdowns and power failures.  The corrosion, breakdowns, and sludge are not merely signs of oil contamination, but of the complete and total degradation of the liquid and solid insulation.

The GlobeCore SMM Model is an oil processing machine used for transformer oil regeneration.  It is fully capable of the full and complete restoration of contaminated oil back to its original new like condition.  It restores the performance characteristics of the insulating oil and fully cleans the inside of the transformers of harmful deposits and contamination.

Thanks to this high quality type of GlobeCore oil processing equipment, your company is able to reduces operating costs by eliminating oil disposal costs, by reducing  the need to purchase new oil, and by reducing downtime needed service and/or repair damaged power equipment.

The GlobeCore SMM oil processing unit is based on the use of Fuller’s Earth to clean, filter, and regenerate used oils and fluids.  GlobeCore engineers have specifically developed the SMM-2R model for oil processing and regeneration using Fuller’s Earth.  The SMM-2R consists of two columns of Fuller’s Earth sorbent materials that can operate independently.  This allows the SMM-2R to regenerate oil and reactivate saturated adsorbent materials simultaneously.

The SMM-2R is connected directly to the transformer oil tank and works completely automatically and autonomously without further resetting of the control systems.  The machine is capable of executing several functions at once: (1) pumping waste oil; (2) filtering and regeneration of waste oil; (3) reactivation of the sorbent during oil processing; and (4)  allows the smooth uninterrupted operation of the transformer during processing.  The SMM-2R is able to process 1.5 tons of oil in 4 hours depending on the contamination levels of the oils and hydraulic fluids.

One of the biggest advantages of the SMM-2R is the machine’s ability to reuse the sorbent material over and over again without the need to remove and replace saturated sorbent after each regeneration cycle.  Automatic sorbent reactivation saves time and money and eliminates sorbent disposal costs.

Here at GlobeCore we believe in an individual approach to the design and construction of models like the SMM-2R to meet the needs of you, the customer.  We offer high speed order execution, delivery, and ease of installation and operation.  Our “service after purchase ” contributes to customer satisfaction and the preservation of their financial resources.

For the complete cleaning and restoration of industrial oils, GlobeCore has developed a number of different equipment models with various capacities and oil processing capabilities.

The management and staff here at GlobeCore recognize that each company has individual and special needs.  This is especially true when it comes to the processing of waste materials such as oils and fluids.  Depending on the level of processing required, GlobeCore’s oil processing  equipment can be utilized at full or reduced capacity or used independently for insulating fluids.

GlobeCore offers a full range of versatile equipment that includes several types of purification, filtration and restoration processes for oils and fluids.  Your company therefore, can select the desired level of oil and fluid processing that best meets your needs and budget.

The GlobeCore SMM MCU-7 Mobile Oil Station is designed to filter insulating oils through the use of high quality sorbent materials.  The Zeolite sorbent materials feature a porous structure with homogeneous cavities that are commonly referred to as “molecular sieves.”  Given the size of these cavities, zeolites can absorb small pollutant particles that do not exceed the diameter of the entrance.

For the MCU-7 unit, only certain types of purification can be implemented depending on the capacity of the power equipment being serviced.  By combining different purification steps however, a high level of quality purification can be achieved for oils and fluid products.

The performance capabilities of the MCU-7 unit is approximately 4.3m3 per hour.  The production rate may be reduced depending on the level of contamination and the purity requirements for the final product.

The GlobeCore MCU-7 Mobile Oil Station is  similar to the GlobeCore CMM line of equipment.  All models however, are designed for mobile servicing of multiple types of electric power equipment and hydraulic systems across the entire industrial spectrum.  Unlike the earlier CMM models, the newer MCU-7 models use sorbent cartridge blocks to process oils and fluids.  The new equipment therefore, can simultaneously provide complex fluid regeneration, the removal of water and water soluble acids and the drying of oil and moisture removal from your oil filled equipment.

The MCU-7 is also equipped with a special heater to maintain the optimal oil temperature needed for heating, drying and regeneration.  The volume of the MCU-7 zeolite cartridge is approximately 100 liters.  Once the sorbent properties are exhausted, the cartridges are removed and replaced. A single cartridge filled with zeolite can handle up to 100 tons of contaminated oil under normal operating conditions.

The benefits of the MCU-7 is its multi-purpose potential.  One unit can be used to serve all the electric power and hydraulic equipment in your company.

Production of new equipment has begun with GlobeCore’s low-temperature refrigeration units. These exciting new units are based on a two (2) stage design and are used for drying the windings inside electric power transformers.  The drying takes place during de-pressurization and during service maintenance events.

The machines can reduce working surface temperatures to -70°C/-194°F. The unit is connected to the transformer and a trap via a flexible DU-150 cable. The vacuum system, which vacuums the oil, is connected on the opposite side.  When vacuum is created inside the transformer, moisture is turned into vapor.  The vapor passes through a low-temperature trap and is frozen on a copper finned surface (copper pipes).

This unit is fully automated and is capable of working non-stop 24 hours per day.  These new models have been named the “Frost” because of their ability to significantly lower temperatures. The low-temperature refrigeration unit is actually two units in one.  It contains a pre-dilution block, which creates a pre-vacuum in the transformer, and a UVV (vacuum freezing) section.  Its function is to create high vacuum inside the transformer.

This newer, more modern GlobeCore model is capable of cooling to -70°C/-194°F and the process is now completely automatic.  The only manual step is in connecting the vacuum, cooling unit, and power to the transformer by pressing the “Gathering the Cold” button. The operator is not involved in any part of the automated process once the automated process is started.

The device operates in a mode of extreme cooling (cold gathering) and is capable of dropping the temperature to -70°C/-194°F.  The unit can operate in this mode for 6, 8 or 12 hours depending on the chosen setting.  There is a viewing window (sight glass) that allows the operator to monitor the amount of accumulated frozen moisture or ice.  The operator can periodically check the window, and in case of a large formation of ice, the system can be easily reset to operate in the defrosting mode.

Defrosting is automatic.  When the button is pressed, the refrigeration unit stops applying cold and starts to radiate heat to temperatures between +20°C – +30°C/+68°F – +86°F.  Depending on the setting, the inner surface is heated and complete thawing of the evaporator will occur.  At the rear of the refrigeration unit, there is a valve through which the operator can manually drain the accumulated fluid.

This setting is very useful in determining the degree of humidity inside the transformer.  There are similar absorber models in which moisture is absorbed by zeolite.  When using the zeolite systems however, determining moisture quantity can be more difficult.  In the GlobeCore low-temperature refrigeration units, moisture can be clearly seen during the defrosting process which is a distinct advantage over the zeolite systems.

This machine can work 24 hours a day.  The “Cooling Mode” can be set to operate immediately following the defrosting mode.  The unit can reach a temperature of -70°C/-194°F within one hour and in defrost mode (up to +30°C/+86°F) it can reach its operating temperature in less than an hour.

The principle behind the operation of the unit:

The system consists of two compressors and two loops for circulating the refrigerant. The first loop is filled with R23 Freon with a boiling point of -82°C.  In order to achieve a temperature of -70°C, the end of the evaporator has to be cooled to make the condensation point lower which is approximately -20°C/-4°F.  The second loop therefore, acts like a “heat sink” for the first circuit.  If you look at the units that operate down to -40°C/-40°F, their capacitors act as the part that cools the refrigerant.  The compressor pumps the refrigerant through the system. The refrigerant is condensed in the condenser and is liquefied before entering the DVM.  The conversion of the gas to a liquid is achieved due to high pressure at that point in the system.  .

Once the Freon’s temperature reaches the boiling point and the liquid turns into a gas, it then radiates out cold.  All refrigeration units operate based on this principle which is how heat is transferred.  The second loop therefore, serves as the condenser by cooling the refrigerant to a lower temperature.

The unit also contains pressure regulators that protect the unit if the pressure deviates from the desired value.  The unit shuts itself down and does not turn on until the proper pressure is restored.  The GlobeCore low-temperature refrigeration unit is equipped with manometers that control the pressure in the system.

When the temperature reaches -20°C/-4°F, the second loop is activated.  Its ability to cool is due to the heat exchanger that is filled with the R404 Freon.  The second Loop cools with R23 Freon and is then fed into the trap.  The temperature is gradually lowered until it reaches -70°C.  The Unit switches itself off, and then turns back on automatically.  This is how moisture is captured from the transformer’s windings.

The low-temperature refrigeration system is highly energy efficient and operates silently. The machine consumes only 6 kW of power during the Defrosting Mode.  Total power ranges from 2 to 2.5 kW.

Vacuum Model UVD-4, manufactured by GlobeCore, is used for topping off oil into high-voltage transformer bushings and circuit breakers.  It is also used for preparing the transformer for its initial operation, degasing, storage and transporting to power plants, substations and other power and industrial plant locations.

With the UVD-4 piston design, oil filling is performed in a manner to prevent the in-flow of outside air.  Among the main requirements for placing new oil into your equipment, it is important to point out the need to have a machine fully capable of processing your oils and fluids to include drying and filtration.  In addition to drying and filtration, many machines do not perform de-gassing.  The GlobeCore UVD-4 however, is capable of performing transformer oil de-gassing.

The UVD-4 models include a degassing block, refill capability and a vacuum pump.  The Oil Preparation unit is designed to hold up to 30L/7.4gls of fluid.  All units are mounted on a common frame.

Let us now discuss in more detail the process of how the model UVD-4 operates.

Transformer oil is poured into the preparation tank and subjected to vacuuming for four (4) hours.  This four (4) hour time period is required to extract dissolved gas in the oil which must be removed before the oil is permitted to begin its service life the transformer or other oil filled equipment.

After completion of the degassing stage, the transformer insulating oil may begin its service life in the transformer.   The “Topping-Off Block” is connected via a long flexible hose 10m/11yds in length.  The pump sends the oil flowing though the refill block into the power block.  The process of oil refilling done by UVD-4 can be compared to that of an ordinary syringe.  The Pump generates the necessary pressure that essentially injects the oil into the oil-filled units.

Topping off of oil can be portioned into small quantities of between 0.5-2.0L/.1-4.2 pints.
Model UVD-4 can be used for degassing or preparation of transformer oil, storage, transportation and refilling. Model effectively performs its functions in each of these modes.  Among the many benefits of the GlobeCore UVD-4, the most important ones are mobility, versatility and high level of transformer oil degassing.

Without a doubt, your company needs to have this kind of equipment for your transformer maintenance requirements.  The benefits of acquiring the UVD-4 for your maintenance needs are clear.   Investing in a highly productive unit with the possibility of preparation and storage of transformer oils as well as performing a number of other functions in addition to its primary purpose.

GlobeCore specializes in producing products that have a rare combination of low price and versatile functionality at the international and domestic levels.