REOIL

Corrosive sulfur removal

Ekouid expert in transformer oil treatment
Ekouid is a manufacturing and servicing company specializing in
high vacuum oil treatment and oil regeneration equipment. The
company has an ISO 9001 certied quality system as well as ISO 14001
certied environment system. Servicing unit also holds the SCC safe-
ty management system certication. Since its establishment, Ekou-
id has been focused on the mid-market segment providing a broad
range of high-quality components. Its products are being used by
all energy sectors such as transmission and grid operators, power
generation companies, transformer servicing companies as well as
numerous industry customers. The technology of oil regeneration
and oil treatment has been originally developed at Fluidex (South
Africa), more than 30 years ago. Thanks to research and dedication,
at Ekouid we have taken one step further to innovate and improve
signicantly on the existing Fluidex design of oil regeneration and
oil treatment equipment establishing our REOIL and FILOIL brands.
oil has been heated, it enters the back section of the equipment. Oil
is pumped through the back section which houses columns with
sorbent media which is specically designed to absorb corrosive sul-
fur molecules. It is important to note that the oil is also regenerated
together with sulfur removal. Oil is then pumped through a vacuum
breaking valve into the degassing section where it is dehydrated and
degassed. Treated oil is then pumped back to the transformer by the
outlet pump. After a given period, sorbent in the back section of the
equipment achieves full saturation and is no longer corrosive sulfur
molecules from oil. At this stage, the sorbent needs to be reactivated
(restored to its original state but more importantly stripped of the
absorbed sulfur molecules) to be able to continue the removal pro-
cess. Reactivation stage starts by draining the columns in the back
section of saturated oil. After the oil has been drained, a vacuum is
created and maintained throughout the whole reactivation process
in the back section. Then by selective use of heating elements on

Description of offered services

Ekouid servicing division oers three types of services. Transformer
oil treatment, transformer oil regeneration, and removal of corrosive
sulfur from transformer oil. We provide all services on site with our
REOIL and FILOIL equipment. Ekouid eet consists of oil regenera-
tion and oil treatment units. Our team of trained experts accompa-
nies each unit to ensure awless operation of the equipment. Our
units are capable of treating all types of mineral based transformer
oils. All equipment is mobile and therefore suitable for intervention
on site.

Description of corrosive sulfur

removal process

Corrosive sulfur inside a transformer represents a risk that could lead

to a failure or a complete breakdown of a transformer as was the
case in a number of incidents worldwide. The cause of these failures
was the growth of conductive layers of copper sulde trough out
the paper insulation as well as on other surfaces inside the trans-
former. It is therefore highly recommended to identify corrosive sul-
fur compounds in transformer oils and subsequently remove them.
Corrosive compound found in transformer oil are removed in steps.
At the inlet of the equipment, oil is ltered through a coarse lter to
prevent any particles from entering the equipment. It is then heated
to the desired temperature to elevate the removal eect. After the

the top parts of individual columns, the reactivation process is in-

itiated. After the reactivation process has ended a unique process
inside the equipment is initiated to remove any left-over corrosive
residues inside the equipment. This entire process is then repeated
many times until the oil has been fully regenerated and completely
stripped of any corrosive sulfur compounds.

The performance of corrosive sulfur

removal equipment

Removing corrosive sulfur is a complicated process that needs to be

performed for a longer period than standard oil regeneration. The
process is done on site at the transformer and can also be carried
out on a live transformer. Due to the nature of the removal process
oil is also completely regenerated surpassing the requirements of
IEC 60422 standard. The level of contamination with corrosive sulfur
is irrelevant to the treatment process, and corrosive sulfur is always
completely removed from the oil. Therefore, all treated oils meet the
requirement of IEC 62697-1 (Test method for quantitative determina-
tion of dibenzyl disulde) and IEC 62535 (Test method for detection
of potentially corrosive sulfur in used and unused insulating oil).

Carrying out corrosive sulfur

removal process

Before the beginning of the corrosive sulfur removal process, the

responsible sta member always conducts an onsite inspection to
ensure accessibility of the transformer and the possibility of connect-
ing corrosive sulfur removal equipment to the transformer. Many of
the main factors need to be checked and measured, such as local
power source availability, ange sizes for connection, distances from
and to the transformer, check valves below the conservator and any
other factors that might play a role in the following corrosive sulfur
removal process. After a successful onsite inspection, exact dates for
connecting and disconnecting of equipment are set. At the time of
the connection to the transformer, equipment is brought onsite and
connected to the transformer. The connection process takes several
hours to ensure that all safety requirements are fully met. After a suc-
cessful connection corrosive, sulfur removal process begins. Corro-
sive sulfur removal lasts for some days up to several weeks depending
on the oil contamination but mainly on the total quantity of oil inside
the transformer. Once our sta determines that the removal process
has been successful, the last phase of the corrosive sulfur removal
process is started. In the last step, the oil is inhibited to improve its
anti-aging capabilities. Oil is then inspected in a certied laborato-
ry to ensure that it meets the requirement of IEC 60422 standard
for mineral insulating oils as well as the standard IEC 62697-1 and
IEC 62535 for the presence of corrosive sulfur compounds. Equip-
ment is then disconnected from the transformer and moved o site.

REOIL DBDS removal 400/110 kV transformer 85 000 kg of oil

Property (Unit) IEC 60422 Before removal After removal 5 years after removal

Corrosive sulfur Non-corrosive Corrosive Non-corrosive Non-corrosive

DBDS (ppm) <5 110 <5 <5

Breakdown voltage (kV/2,5 mm) >60 65 89 79

Dielectric dissipation factor at 90 C <0,01 0,0031 0,0011 0,0029

Acidity (mg KOH/g) <0,03 0,04 0,010 0,018

Water content (ppm) <10 9 6 9

Interfacial tension (mN/m) >35 36 42 41

Ekofluid GmbH, Mariahilfer Strae 36, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Email: info@ekofluid.com | Web: www.ekofluid.com