IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v141y2021ics1364032121000782.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A critical review of plant-based insulating fluids for transformer: 30-year development

Author

Listed:
  • Shen, Zijia
  • Wang, Feipeng
  • Wang, Zhiqing
  • Li, Jian

Abstract

As a non-renewable resource, mineral oil has been re-evaluated for its value and suitability as the coolant and insulator in transformers because of its environmental unfriendliness, fire hazards, and operating efficiency dissatisfaction. As a result, alternative dielectric liquids meeting the demands for more reliable, safer, and cleaner energy has been a critical need. Plant-based insulating fluids, non-toxic to the environment and ultimately biodegradable, have been flowing into the mainstream for achieving cost efficiencies, performance advantages, and enhancing safety. With more than 20 years of field experience, plant-based oils are now employed in more than 600,000 transformers worldwide, and have been established an enviable performance track record. Far from being just a mineral oil replacement, but more significantly, plant-based oils have filled a gap in some specific application scenarios where mineral oils fail to satisfy the fire-safety and environmental standards. This article reviews the research status of plant-based insulating fluids for transformer, including both challenges and outlook circa 2020. Plant-based oils have many inherent advantages over mineral oil, but also have numerous and unique challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Shen, Zijia & Wang, Feipeng & Wang, Zhiqing & Li, Jian, 2021. "A critical review of plant-based insulating fluids for transformer: 30-year development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:141:y:2021:i:c:s1364032121000782
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.110783
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032121000782
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2021.110783?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephanie Haegele & Farzaneh Vahidi & Stefan Tenbohlen & Kevin J. Rapp & Alan Sbravati, 2018. "Lightning Impulse Withstand of Natural Ester Liquid," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-13, July.
    2. Jing Zhang & Feipeng Wang & Jian Li & Hehuan Ran & Dali Huang, 2017. "Influence of Copper Particles on Breakdown Voltage and Frequency-Dependent Dielectric Property of Vegetable Insulating Oil," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Pawel Rozga & Marcin Stanek & Bartlomiej Pasternak, 2018. "Characteristics of Negative Streamer Development in Ester Liquids and Mineral Oil in a Point-To-Sphere Electrode System with a Pressboard Barrier," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-13, April.
    4. Vasilios P. Charalampakos & Georgios D. Peppas & Eleftheria C. Pyrgioti & Aristides Bakandritsos & Aikaterini D. Polykrati & Ioannis F. Gonos, 2019. "Dielectric Insulation Characteristics of Natural Ester Fluid Modified by Colloidal Iron Oxide Ions and Silica Nanoparticles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-11, August.
    5. Rafiq, M. & Lv, Y.Z. & Zhou, Y. & Ma, K.B. & Wang, W. & Li, C.R. & Wang, Q., 2015. "Use of vegetable oils as transformer oils – a review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 308-324.
    6. Sajjadi, Baharak & Raman, Abdul Aziz Abdul & Arandiyan, Hamidreza, 2016. "A comprehensive review on properties of edible and non-edible vegetable oil-based biodiesel: Composition, specifications and prediction models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 62-92.
    7. Nur Aqilah Mohamad & Norhafiz Azis & Jasronita Jasni & Mohd Zainal Abidin Ab Kadir & Robiah Yunus & Zaini Yaakub, 2019. "Impact of Fe 3 O 4 , CuO and Al 2 O 3 on the AC Breakdown Voltage of Palm Oil and Coconut Oil in the Presence of CTAB," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, April.
    8. Chenmeng Xiang & Quan Zhou & Jian Li & Qingdan Huang & Haoyong Song & Zhaotao Zhang, 2016. "Comparison of Dissolved Gases in Mineral and Vegetable Insulating Oils under Typical Electrical and Thermal Faults," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-22, April.
    9. Pawel Rozga, 2016. "Streamer Propagation and Breakdown in a Very Small Point-Insulating Plate Gap in Mineral Oil and Ester Liquids at Positive Lightning Impulse Voltage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-12, June.
    10. Yaakob, Zahira & Narayanan, Binitha N. & Padikkaparambil, Silija & Unni K., Surya & Akbar P., Mohammed, 2014. "A review on the oxidation stability of biodiesel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 136-153.
    11. Leila Safiddine & Hadj-Ziane Zafour & Ungarala Mohan Rao & Issouf Fofana, 2019. "Regeneration of Transformer Insulating Fluids Using Membrane Separation Technology," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-13, January.
    12. Nurul Izzatul Akma Katim & Mohd Taufiq Ishak & Nur Aqilah Mohamad Amin & Mardhiah Hayati Abdul Hamid & Khairol Amali Ahmad & Norhafiz Azis, 2018. "Lightning Breakdown Voltage Evaluation of Palm Oil and Coconut Oil as Transformer Oil under Quasi-Uniform Field Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-15, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bartlomiej Pasternak & Pawel Rozga, 2023. "Influence of Dielectric Liquid Type on Partial-Discharge Inception Voltage in Oil-Wedge-Type Insulating System under AC Stress," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-11, January.
    2. Fatih Atalar & Aysel Ersoy & Pawel Rozga, 2022. "Investigation of Effects of Different High Voltage Types on Dielectric Strength of Insulating Liquids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-25, October.
    3. Arputhasamy Joseph Amalanathan & Ramanujam Sarathi & Maciej Zdanowski, 2023. "A Critical Overview of the Impact of Nanoparticles in Ester Fluid for Power Transformers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-24, April.
    4. Grzegorz Dombek & Jarosław Gielniak, 2023. "Dielectric Properties and Fire Safety of Mineral Oil and Low-Viscosity Natural Ester Mixtures in Various Concentrations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-14, May.
    5. Teresa Nogueira & José Carvalho & José Magano, 2022. "Eco-Friendly Ester Fluid for Power Transformers versus Mineral Oil: Design Considerations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, July.
    6. Samson Okikiola Oparanti & Ungarala Mohan Rao & Issouf Fofana, 2022. "Natural Esters for Green Transformers: Challenges and Keys for Improved Serviceability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, December.
    7. Ye, Wenyu & Hao, Jian & Zhang, Junyi & Zhang, Jingwen & Gao, Chenyu & Liao, Ruijin, 2023. "Atomic scale microparameter analysis of modified natural ester molecules related to impulse discharge characteristics under electric field," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    8. Pawel Rozga & Filip Stuchala & Tomasz Piotrowski & Abderrahmane Beroual, 2022. "Influence of Temperature on Lightning Performance of Mineral Oil," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-11, January.
    9. Abdulilah Mohammad Mayet & Seyed Mehdi Alizadeh & Karina Shamilyevna Nurgalieva & Robert Hanus & Ehsan Nazemi & Igor M. Narozhnyy, 2022. "Extraction of Time-Domain Characteristics and Selection of Effective Features Using Correlation Analysis to Increase the Accuracy of Petroleum Fluid Monitoring Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, March.
    10. Belén García & Alfredo Ortiz & Carlos Renedo & Diego Fernando García & Andrés Montero, 2021. "Use Performance and Management of Biodegradable Fluids as Transformer Insulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, October.
    11. Li, Xiang & Wu, Junsong & Zhu, Xinyu & Liang, Huixing, 2022. "Agricultural waste-to-energy concerning a biofuel-fed molten carbonate fuel cell toward a novel trigeneration scheme; exergoeconomic/sustainability study and multi-objective optimization," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 1189-1209.
    12. Enze Zhang & Jiang Liu & Chaohai Zhang & Peijun Zheng & Yosuke Nakanishi & Thomas Wu, 2023. "State-of-Art Review on Chemical Indicators for Monitoring the Aging Status of Oil-Immersed Transformer Paper Insulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-31, January.
    13. Chen, Rui & Qiu, Qinpan & Peng, Xiao & Tang, Chao, 2023. "Surface modified h-BN towards enhanced electrical properties and thermal conductivity of natural ester insulating oil," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 185-196.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mardhiah Hayati Abdul Hamid & Mohd Taufiq Ishak & Nur Sabrina Suhaimi & Jaafar Adnan & Nazrul Fariq Makmor & Nurul Izzatul Akma Katim & Rahisham Abd Rahman, 2021. "Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage of Rice Bran Oil for Transformer Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    2. Issouf Fofana & Yazid Hadjadj, 2018. "Power Transformer Diagnostics, Monitoring and Design Features," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-5, November.
    3. Pawel Rozga & Abderrahmane Beroual & Piotr Przybylek & Maciej Jaroszewski & Konrad Strzelecki, 2020. "A Review on Synthetic Ester Liquids for Transformer Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-33, December.
    4. Karatas, Mehmet & Bicen, Yunus, 2022. "Nanoparticles for next-generation transformer insulating fluids: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    5. Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Abdi, Reza & Tabatabaei, Meisam, 2017. "Expanded polystyrene waste application for improving biodiesel environmental performance parameters from life cycle assessment point of view," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 278-298.
    6. Issouf Fofana & U. Mohan Rao, 2018. "Engineering Dielectric Liquid Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-4, October.
    7. Luc Loiselle & U. Mohan Rao & Issouf Fofana, 2020. "Gassing Tendency of Fresh and Aged Mineral Oil and Ester Fluids under Electrical and Thermal Fault Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-15, July.
    8. Zbigniew Nadolny & Grzegorz Dombek, 2018. "Electro-Insulating Nanofluids Based on Synthetic Ester and TiO 2 or C 60 Nanoparticles in Power Transformer," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-11, July.
    9. Huaqiang Li & Linfeng Xia & Shengwei Cai & Zhiqiang Huang & Jiaqi Li & Lisheng Zhong, 2021. "Influence of Molecule Structure on Lightning Impulse Breakdown of Ester Liquids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    10. Bukkarapu, Kiran Raj & Krishnasamy, Anand, 2022. "A critical review on available models to predict engine fuel properties of biodiesel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    11. Goh, Brandon Han Hoe & Ong, Hwai Chyuan & Cheah, Mei Yee & Chen, Wei-Hsin & Yu, Kai Ling & Mahlia, Teuku Meurah Indra, 2019. "Sustainability of direct biodiesel synthesis from microalgae biomass: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 59-74.
    12. Sifeddine Abdi & Noureddine Harid & Leila Safiddine & Ahmed Boubakeur & Abderrahmane (Manu) Haddad, 2021. "The Correlation of Transformer Oil Electrical Properties with Water Content Using a Regression Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-14, April.
    13. Qiu, Qinpan & Zhang, Jingwen & Yang, Lu & Zhang, Jinzhu & Chen, Binghao & Tang, Chao, 2021. "Simulation of the diffusion behavior of water molecules in palm oil and mineral oil at different temperatures," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 909-917.
    14. Si, Buchun & Watson, Jamison & Wang, Zixin & Wang, Tengfei & Acero Triana, Juan S. & Zhang, Yuanhui, 2024. "Storage stability of biocrude oil fractional distillates derived from the hydrothermal liquefaction of food waste," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    15. Arputhasamy Joseph Amalanathan & Ramanujam Sarathi & Maciej Zdanowski & Ravikrishnan Vinu & Zbigniew Nadolny, 2023. "Review on Gassing Tendency of Different Insulating Fluids towards Transformer Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, January.
    16. Rochelle, David & Najafi, Hamidreza, 2019. "A review of the effect of biodiesel on gas turbine emissions and performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 129-137.
    17. Seffati, Kambiz & Esmaeili, Hossein & Honarvar, Bizhan & Esfandiari, Nadia, 2020. "AC/CuFe2O4@CaO as a novel nanocatalyst to produce biodiesel from chicken fat," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 25-34.
    18. Cristina Méndez & Cristian Olmo & Ismael Antolín & Alfredo Ortiz & Carlos J. Renedo, 2024. "Analysing the Suitability of Using Different Biodegradable Fluids for Power Transformers with Thermally Upgraded Paper," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-18, April.
    19. M. Z. H. Makmud & H. A. Illias & C. Y. Chee & M. S. Sarjadi, 2018. "Influence of Conductive and Semi-Conductive Nanoparticles on the Dielectric Response of Natural Ester-Based Nanofluid Insulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-12, February.
    20. Ming Ren & Chongxing Zhang & Ming Dong & Rixin Ye & Ricardo Albarracín, 2016. "A New Switching Impulse Generator Based on Transformer Boosting and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Trigger Control," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:141:y:2021:i:c:s1364032121000782. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.