Physiochemical and Electrical Properties of Refined Luffa (Luffa Cylindrica) Seed Oil as Bio-Transformer Oil

Abstract

Researchers have attested that oils of ester are biodegradable and environmentally friendly when compared to petroleum transformer lubrication and insulation oils. These benefits inspired us to explore the possibility of using refined luffa cylindrica seed oil (RLSO) as substitute source for transformer oil. To authenticate its suitability, it is imperative to make a comparism of electrical and physicochemical properties with transformer mineral oil (TMO) and ASTM standard specification. In this work the oil of Luffa cylindrica was extracted giving a yield of 31.13% and the extracted oil undergone having undergone a two-step acid-based transesterification process using first acid pretreatment and Alkaline Transesterification. The produced RLSO and TMO were analyzed for electrical and physiochemical properties utilizing standard procedures. The properties measured are pH, boiling point, density at 29.5°C, specific gravity at 25°C, viscosity at 27°C, free fatty acid, acid value, iodine value, peroxide value, saponification value, others are flash point, cloud point, pour point, breakdown voltage and relative permittivity dielectric constant at 25℃. Most of the results obtained shows that RLSO compares relatively well with TMO and the values also meeting the ASTM standard specification for bio-transformer oils. Hence refined Luffa cylindrica oil can be used substitute to conventional transformer oil since it met most of the ASTM standard specifications.

Keywords

• breakdown voltage
• transformer oil
• DFT
• luffa cylindrical
• transesterification

References

1. [1]. Aldhaidhawi, M., Chirac, R., Badescu, V., Ignition delay, combustion and emission characteristics of diesel engine fueled with rapeseed biodiesel-A literature review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, 73, 178–186.
2. [2]. Herrero, M., Ibá, E., Green Processes and Sustainability: An Overview on the Extraction of High Added-Value Products from Seaweeds and Microalgae. The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, 2015, 96, 211-216.
3. [3]. Azis, N., Jasni, J., Ab Kadir, M.Z.A., Mohtar, M.N., Suitability of palm based oil as dielectric insulat¬ing fluidin transformers, J. Electr. Eng. Technol., 2014, 9, 662-669..
4. [4]. Martin, D. Wang, Z.D., Statistical Analysis of the AC Breakdown Voltages of Ester Based Transformer Oils, Journal of IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, 2008, 15(4), 123-132.
5. [5]. Xu, Y., Qian, S., Liu, Q. and Wang, Z., (2014), Oxidation Stability Assessment of a Vegetable Transformer Oil under Thermal Aging, IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, 21, 683-692.
6. [6]. Evangelista Jr., J.M.G., Coelho, F.E.B., Carvalho, J.A.O., Araújo, E.M.R., Miranda, T.L.S., Salum, A., Development of a New Bio-Based Insulating Fluid from Jatropha curcas Oil for Power Transformers, Advances in Chemical Engineering and Science, 2017, 8, 235-255.
7. [7]. Hosier, I. L., Praeger, M., Holt, A. F. Vaughan, A. S. Swingler, S. G., Effect of water absorption on dielectric properties of nano-silica/polyethylene composites, Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena (CEIDP ’14), pp. (2014) 651–654.
8. [8]. Banumathi, S., Chandrasekar, S., Analysis of Partial Discharge Characteristics of Olive and Castor Oil as Dielectric Medium for HV Applications, International Review of Electrical Engineering, 8,1882-1889.

9. [9]. Henry, B.H.S., Rudy, S., Setijo, B., Abderrahmane, B., (2016), Jatropha Curcas Methyl Ester Oil Obtaining as Vegetable Insulating Oil., IEEE Transaction on Dielectrics and Insulation, 2016, 23, 2021- 2018.
10. [10]. Oyelaran, O.A, Bolaji, B.O., Samuel, O.D., Assessment of calabash seed oil as biobased insulating fluid for power transformers, Journal of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 2020, 55, 307- 317.
11. [11]. Okafor, K. O., Okafor, J. O., Production and characterization of electrical transformer insulating fluid from blending Castor and Neem seed oils, IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2018, 173 012004 doi :10.1088/1755-1315/173/1/012004.
12. [12]. Ichetaonye, S. I. Madufor, I. C. Yibowei, M. E. Ichetaonye, D. N., Physico-Mechanical Properties of Luffa aegyptiaca Fiber Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composite, Open Journal of Composite Materials, 2015, 5(4), 110-117.
13. [13]. Papanicolaou, G. C., Erato, P. Dimitris, A., Manufacturing and mechanical response optimization of epoxy resin/Luffa Cylindrica composite. Appl. Polym, Sci., 2015, DOI: 10.1002/app.41992.
14. [14]. Yusuf. N and Sirajo M., An experimental study of biodiesel synthesis from groundnut oil. Part I: Synthesis of biodiesel from groundnut oil under varying operating conditions. INSI net Publication Australian. J. Basic. Appl. Sci.,2009, 3, 1623-1629.
15. [15]. Rashid U and Anwar F., Production of iodiesel through optimized alkaline catalyzed transesterification of rapeseed oil, Fuel, 2008, 87, 265–273.
16. [16]. Zullaikah,S., Lai, C.C., Vali, S.R., Ju, Y.H. A two-step acid-catalyzed process for the production of biodiesel from rice bran oil. Bioresources Technol., 2005, 96, 1889–1896.
17. [17]. Alamu O.J, Waheed M.A, Jekayinfa S.O., Biodiesel production from Nigerian palm kernel oil: Effect of KOH concentration on yield, Energy Sustain. Dev, 2007, 11(3), 77-82.
18. [18]. Dorado, M.P., Arnal, J.M., Gomex, J., Gill, A., Lopez, F.J., The effects of a waste vegetable oil blend with diesel fuel on engine performance. Transactions of ASAE, 2002, 45(3), 519-523.
19. [19]. Meher, L.C., Kulkarni, M.G., Dalal, K.A., Naik, S.N., Transesterification of karanja (Pongamia pinnata) oil by a solid basic catalyst, Eur. J. Lipud Sci. Technol., 2006, 108, 389-397.
20. [20]. Abdelmalika, A. A., Abbottb, A. P., Fothergill, J. C., Dodda, S. and Harris, R. C., Synthesis of a base-stock for electrical insulating fluid based on palm kernel oil, Industrial Crops and Products, 2010, 33, 532-536.
21. [21]. Sidohounde, A., Nonviho, G., Djenontin, T., Sebastien. T., Agbangnan, P., Paris, C., Sohounhloue, C.K.D., Physio-chemical Characterization of Vegetable Oil and Defatted Meal from Two Varieties of Cyperus esculentus from Benin, Chemical Journal, 2014, 4, 1-7.
22. [22]. Fares, N., Jabri Karoui, Sifi, S., and Abderrabba, M., Physical chemical and sensory characterization of olive oil of the region of Kairouan. Journal of Material and Environmental Science, 2016, 7(6), 2148-2154.
23. [23]. Garba, Z. N., Gimba, C. E., Emmanuel, P., Production and Characterization of biobased transformer oil from jatropha curcas seed, Journal of physical science, 2013, 24(2), 49-61.
24. [24]. Anastopoulos, G., Zannikou, Y., Stournas, S., Kalli-geros, S., Transesteriifcation of vegetable oils with ethanol and characterization of the key fuel properties of ethyl esters, Journal of energies, 2009, 2, 362-376.
25. [25]. Huseyin, S., Mustafa, C., Ertan, A., Characterization of waste frying oils obtained from different facilities, World renewable energy congress-Sweden, Bioenergy Technology, 2011, 479-484.
26. [26].Perrier, C. Beroual, A., (2009), Experimental Investigations on Insulating Liquids for Power Transformers: Mineral, Ester, and Silicone Oils, IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, 5 – 10.
27. [27]. IEC-156 International Standard, Insulating Liquids – Determination of the breakdown Voltage at Power Frequency – Test Method, Second Edition, 1995.
28. [28]. Cooper Power System, Envirotemp FR3 Fluid Testing Guide, Section R- 900-20-12, July, 2004 -20-12, July, 2004.
29. [29]. Ibeto, C.N.K., Okoye, C.O.B., Ofoefule, A.U., Comparative Study of the Physicochemical Characterization of Some Oils as Potential Feedstock for Biodiesel Production ISRN Renewable Energy, 2012, Volume, Article ID 621518, 5 pages doi:10.5402/2012/621518.
30. [30]. Aliyu, A.O., Tijjani, A., Transesterification and Epoxidation of Oil Extracts from Selected Plants for Use as Bio-transformer Oil, International Research Journal of Pure & Applied Chemistry, 2017, 14(3), 1-7.
31. [31]. Raja, S.A., Robinssmart, D.S., Lee, C., Lindon, R., Biodiesel production from Jatropha oil and its char¬acterization, Res. J. Chem. Sci., 2011, 1, 81-87.
32. [32]. Bashi, S.M., Robia Yunus, U.U., Nordin, A., Use of Natural Vegetable oils as Alternative Dielectric Transformer Coolants, Faculty of Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), 2006, 4-9.
33. [33]. Rafiq, M., Lv, Y.Z., Zhou, Y., Ma, K.B., Wang, W., Li, C.R. et al., Use of Vegetable Oils as Transformer Oils - A Review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015, 52, 308-324.
34. [34] Achten, W.M.J., Nielsen, L.R., Aerts, R., Lengkeet, A.G., Kjaer, E.D., Trabucco, A., Hansen, J.K., Maes, W.H., Graudel, L., Akinnifesi, F.K., Muys, B., Biofuels, 2010, 1, 91-107.
35. [35]. Rycroft, M., (2014), Vegetable Oil as Insulating Fluid for Transformers, Energize, 37-40.
36. [36]. EL-Sayed, M.M., M. El-Refaie, M., Salem, R. Ahmed, W.A., Prediction of the characteristics of trans¬former oil under different operation conditions, World Acad. Sci. Eng. Tech., 2009, 29, 758-762.
37. [37]. Suwarno, H. Darma, I. S., Dielectric properties of mixtures between mineral oil and natural ester from palm oil, Journal of WSEAS Transaction on Power Systems, 2008, 3(2), 37-46.
38. [38]. Rajab, A., Sulaeman, A., Sudirham, S., Suwarno, H. A., Comparison of Dielectric Properties of Palm Oil with Mineral and Synthetic Types Insulating Liquid under Temperature Variation, ITB J. Eng. Sci., 2011, 43(3), 191-201.