Treatment Measures For Turbine Oil Emulsification

Writer： Kaiqian Oil Purifier Release time：2025-11-03 16:24 Clicks：

1. Hazards of Turbine Oil Emulsification

• Lubrication Failure: The strength of the emulsified oil film decreases, leading to increased wear on friction pairs such as bearings and gears, and even bearing burnout.

• Equipment Corrosion: Water combines with acidic substances in the oil, causing rust and corrosion on metal surfaces such as the internal circulation system, bearings, and speed control components.

• Sludge and Sediment: Water and impurities act as catalysts, accelerating oil oxidation and forming sludge that can clog filters, oil lines, and coolers.

• Speed Control System Failure: In hydraulic speed control systems, the use of emulsified turbine oil cn lead to reduced control accuracy, sluggish operation, and even jamming, which can seriously impact unit safety.

• Accelerated Oil Aging: Water significantly accelerates oil oxidation, shortening oil life.

2. Degree of Emulsification and Causes

  Before the oil treatment, clearly identify the cause of emulsification to avoid ineffective operations or secondary contamination. Preliminary assessment can be made through visual inspection and simple testing:

3. Turbine Oil Emulsification Treatment Measures
  If oil transparency decreases, the oil color becomes milky, or the water content exceeds the standard, the following measures should be taken immediately:

1. Shutdown (Heavy Emulsification):

  If emulsification is severe (water content > 1000 ppm, or the oil appears milky), especially for large, critical units, the safest approach is to shut down the unit and place all the oil in a clean oil tank for centralized treatment. This prevents further damage to the equipment during operation.

2. Online Purification (Mild to Moderate Emulsification):

  2.1 Vacuum Tubrine Oil Filter Machine(Preferred Method): The most effective and thorough dehydration method.
* Principle: The oil is atomized in a vacuum tank. Utilizing the fact that water has a much lower boiling point than oil, under high vacuum and moderate heating (usually ≤ 60°C), the dissolved and free water in the oil is rapidly vaporized and extracted by a vacuum pump.
* Advantages: Efficiently removes free water, dissolved water, and gases while minimizing impact on oil additives.

  2.2 Coalescing and Separating Oil Filter:

* Principle: The oil first passes through a coalescing filter element, coalescing tiny water droplets into larger droplets. The oil then passes through a separation filter element, utilizing density differences to separate the oil and water.

* Advantages: Effective treatment of free water and emulsified water.

Note: Using a standard plate and frame pressure oil filter or precision filter alone can only remove solid impurities, but cannot effectively remove water.

vacuum turbine oil filter in a power plant 

4. Preventive measures

  4.1. Control moisture

• Regularly inspect the oil cooler and seals, and repair leaks promptly.
• Install a desiccant breather on the fuel tank breather valve (replace the desiccant regularly) to prevent moisture from entering.
• Use an oil filter with a dehydrating function when refueling, and store new oil in a sealed container to prevent rainwater from mixing in.

  4.2. Maintain the oil system regularly

• Test oil quality (moisture content, acidity, and demulsibility) every three months, and perform oil spectrometry analysis annually (to monitor additive content and metal ions).
• Clean the fuel tank and replace the filter element every six months to prevent impurities from accumulating.
• If the oil has severely emulsified and is accompanied by significant oxidation (high acid value, excessive sludge), resulting in a permanent loss of anti-emulsification properties, the most thorough solution is to replace it with fresh oil. Simultaneously, the entire lubrication system must be thoroughly flushed.

  4.3. Standardize operating procedures
Avoid prolonged oil temperatures exceeding 55°C (high temperatures accelerate oil oxidation and additive depletion).
Before starting the equipment, circulate the oil through the oil filter for 1-2 hours to remove moisture or impurities that may have entered during downtime.

Kaiqian provides a variety of equipment and solutions for turbine oil emulsification problems. Contact for details if you need.  Email:oilrecycling@kaiqiancq.com   WhatsApp: +8617723167431