THE EFFECT OF AN ANTI -OXIDANT ON THE BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE OF PALM OLEIN SAMPLES

Abstract

The effect of the anti-oxidant (hydroquinone) on the breakdown voltage of palm olein samples was studied. The oil samples had different acid values resulting from the different degrees of neutralization treatments given. The hydroquinone addition ranged from 0.23 to 1.13 weight percent of the oil.

The hydroquinone had a positive effect on the breakdown voltage of the oil samples. The increase in the breakdown voltage was rapid at low concentrations of the hydroquinone with the increase tending towards an asymptotic value at higher concentrations. the effect of the hydroquinone on the breakdown voltage was also dependent on the acid value of the oil. Oil samples with lower acid values had sharper increases in their breakdown voltages. Percentage increase in the breakdown voltage of 66.67(vis-à-vis the additive-less samples) was recorded for oil sample of acid value of 1.515 mg KOH/g oil and containing 0.45% by weight hydroquinone.These results show that the one major problem (oxidative stability) in the use of vegetable oil as transformer oil can be overcome without an adverse effect on their electrical properties.


Key words: Breakdown voltage, Anti-oxidant, Palm olein, Neutralization, Acid value.


[Global Jnl Engineering Res. Vol.1(1) 2002: 23-30]