Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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Use of vegetable oils as transformer oils a review

M. Raq a,c,n, Y.Z. Lv a,b, Y. Zhou a,c, K.B. Ma a,c, W. Wang b, C.R. Li a,c, Q. Wang a,c
a
Beijing Key Laboratory of High Voltage and EMC, School of Electric and Electronic Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
b
School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
c
State key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The mineral or synthetic oil is mostly being used in conjunction with paper as the dielectric medium in
Received 29 January 2014 most of the high voltage equipment. However, impact on environment, lack of petroleum oil reserves
Received in revised form and disposal problems with used oils, have prompted researchers to direct their focus onto biodegrad-
17 May 2015
able and renewable insulating materials. The new insulating liquid materials development is guided by
Accepted 8 July 2015
multiple factors such as environmental requirements and other safety and economic considerations.
Therefore transformers manufacturer have to face new specications related to these new requirements.
Keywords: The Vegetable-oil based transformer uids increasingly replacing mineral oil-based products in the
Vegetable oil market place. They are successful because they perform better than mineral oil products and they
Biodegradable oil
provide denite environmental and safety gains. This paper reviews the current status of vegetable oils
Renewable materials
use as transformer oil, including their production, processing, and characterization. The vegetable oils
Dielectric strength
most used as transformer oils are presented and their main advantages described in comparison with
mineral oil. The various experimental work carried out in different countries is described, giving an
overview of the current research carried out on the vegetable oils. In addition scope and challenges
being faced in this area of research are clearly described.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
2. Vegetable oil as transformer oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
2.1. Viability of vegetable oil as transformer oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
2.1.1. What is vegetable oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
2.1.2. The problems with mineral oil and application of vegetable oils as transformer oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
2.1.3. Properties of transformer-grade vegetable oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
2.1.4. Historic evolution of vegetable oil as transformer oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
2.2. Production and usage of vegetable oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
2.2.1. Base uid selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
2.2.2. Oil processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
2.2.3. Stabilization of the oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
2.2.4. Improving pour point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
2.2.5. Chemical composition of vegetable oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
3. Performance comparison of vegetable oil vs. mineral oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
3.1. Biodegradability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
3.1.1. Flash, re point and viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
3.1.2. Gases produced after aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
3.1.3. Oxidation stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
3.1.4. Breakdown strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
3.1.5. Streamer initiation and propagation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: 8613641117142.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.032
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324 309

3.1.6. Partial discharge and thermal aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

3.1.7. Recent research work carried on vegetable oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
4. Advantages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
4.1. Environment friendly and adapted to sensitive areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
4.2. High sustainable efciency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
4.3. Less ammable product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
4.4. Customer benets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
4.5. Strengthen agricultural economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
4.6. Renewable fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
5. Technical difculties and challenges and research gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
5.1. Technical difculties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
5.2. Special challenges and research gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

1. Introduction
The development of future low carbon network and smart grid
has raised high demands on the reliability and performance of
insulation materials used in electrical power system plants to cope
with more dynamic and volatile operating conditions. A transfor-
mer, which transforms voltage and transfer energy, is one of the
most vital components of a power network. Mineral oils have been
used as coolant and insulator for over a century [1]. However, due
to limitation of sources of mineral oils, sustainable production of
transformer oil is being hotly debated worldwide since it is
increasingly acknowledged that rst generation mineral oil, pri-
marily produced from petroleum products, are limited in reserves
and have several other drawbacks such as, non-biodegradability
(the level of biodegradability for mineral oil is not more than 30%),
low ash point, non-renewable and could cause a serious problem
if there is a spillage [24]. Also the enhanced industrialization and
motorization of the society has led to a huge rise in demand of
petroleum products. The above mentioned concerns have
increased the attention to look for alternate, which can be
produced from materials available abundant in nature and which
potentially can offer greatest opportunities in the longer term.
Liquid lled transformers use billion of liters of insulating uid.
They come in various sizes: large, medium and small. Power as well
as distribution transformers use oil for insulation and cooling
purposes. The distribution smaller units are numerous than larger
units because distribution is more widespread by denition and
hence smaller units hold much more uid in total as compared to
larger units. Mineral oil is most commonly used transformer uid and
has been used for more than a century. Small units used in conned
areas like shopping centers may use re resistance uids such as
silicone, high temperature mineral oil and synthetic ester uids. In the
recent years, environmental concerns have been raised on the use of
poorly biodegradable uids in electrical apparatus in areas where
spills from leaks and equipment failure could contaminate the
surroundings. Contamination of the water supply is more serious as
compared to the contamination of soil [5].
The vegetable oils are thought to be a suitable alternate of mineral
oil in transformers. The vegetable oils are naturally obtained from seeds
as well as form owers. Many researchers and industries are perform-
ing investigations on vegetable oils for providing them as insulating oils
in transformers and pollution free environment [6]. Vegetable oils have
the properties like High biodegradable (495%), low toxicity, high ash
points (4300 1C), re points (4300 1C), provide lower ammability
and it is considered more environmental friendly uids [79]. In
addition, these vegetable oils absorb more moisture compared to
mineral oils [10,11]. However, high concentration of unsaturated fatty
acid makes them unstable and prone to oxidation [12]. These fatty acid
hydrocarbons chains and their degree of un-saturation affect the
dielectric and physiochemical characteristics of vegetable oils. Vegeta-
ble oils have higher acidity than mineral oils [13] due to hydrolysis
reaction which forms above mentioned acids (reaction that does not
occur in mineral oils) and to the different chemical structure of the two
oils. Also, the nature of the contained acids in both oils is different.
Vegetable oils mainly contain highly molecular weight acids (HMA) like
stearic and oleic acids whereas the mineral oil contains low molecular
weight acids (LMA) like acetic, formic and levulinic acids [1416].
Research efforts started in mid 1990s to develop a fully biode-
gradable liquid due to the utility interest. The R&D labs stated efforts
in this direction and initiated oil development work. Vegetable oil
was considered the most likely candidate for a fully biodegradable
insulation liquid. Vegetable oil is available in plenty as a natural
resource. It was considered a biodegradable and a good insulator [17].
Vegetable oils have emerged as an increasingly common mineral oil
alternative. They offset all the main risks associated with common
mineral oil, such as high ammability and environmental impact.
They are made from renewable biological sources such as vegetables.
It is biodegradable, non-toxic and possesses low emission proles.
Also, the use of vegetable oil liquids is environmentally benecial.
Only recently transformer-grade vegetable oils become avail-
able. The rst commercial product was BIOTEMPs, patented in
September 1999 by ABB in US [18]. The base uid was high oleic oil
with 80% oleic content. These oils were produced from seeds
which have been developed by selective breeding; recently gene
manipulation techniques have also been used. Unstable tri-
unsaturates were minimized by additional step of partial hydro-
genation. The BIOTEMPs uid is now in use in distribution
transformers in some sensitive areas. Later in September 1999,
another U.S patent was issued, for transformer oil obtained from
regular soybean oil prepared by Waverly Light & Power in Iowa
[19]. It is not high oleic oil. In March 2000, the Cooper industries,
Inc in Milwaukee, WI under the trademark Envirotemp FRs 3 [20].
This uid is being used in some commercial distribution transfor-
mers and is from standard grade oleic base oils. In August 2001, a
second patent was issued to ABB inventors on BIOTEMPs [21].
Except BIOTEMPs, the uid development details are not available,
on which a dozen of technical papers have been published. For
BIOTEMPs, the starting oil is high oleic oil, such as sunower oil,
containing 80% or more oleic content. Canola oil upgraded to this
level of oleic content also been tested for use [22].
This paper gives a comprehensive review of the methods used
for producing vegetable oil, experimental investigation on differ-
ent oils, characterization, merits, demerits and challenges faced by
vegetable oil are described.
310 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324

Fig. 1. Breakdown voltage of impregnated cellulose [26].

Table 1
Water solubility in transformer liquids [26].

Class Fire point Class Net caloric value

O r300 1C 1 Z 42 MJ/kg
K 4300 1C 2 r 42 MJ/kg and Z32 MJ/kg
L No measureable re point 3 o 32 MJ/kg

Table 2
Fire and ash points of different insulating liquids [26].

Fluid type Flash point Fire point (C) Class

Mineral oil 160170 170180 O

Silicone uid 4 300 4350 K3
Fig. 2. Comparison of unit life of transformer for oil and natural ester [28]. Low viscosity silicone uid 268 312 K3
Natural ester 4 300 4350 K2
Synthetic ester 4 250 4300 K3

2. Vegetable oil as transformer oil

2.1. Viability of vegetable oil as transformer oil
2.1.1. What is vegetable oil
Vegetable oils are triglyceride normally obtained from a plant.
The vegetable oils have been used by human since centuries. The
term vegetable oil can be dened as plant oil that is liquid at
room temperature. Vegetable oils consist of triglycerides. Although
many plant parts may yield oil, commercially, oil is extracted
primarily from seeds.
2.1.2. The problems with mineral oil and application of vegetable oils
as transformer oils
The mineral oil as transformer oil can generate poisonous
substances due to oxidative instability. The disposal and clearance
after equipment failure and spillage is also a very difcult exercise.
The leakage of mineral oil transformer can post a serious threat to
environment if leakage or spillage. Due to these above mentioned
negative points attached with mineral oil, its use is highly
questionable in many countries. The use of silicon oil has some
better properties like, high ash point (low ammability) but they
are very expensive and also non-biodegradable [23].
Vegetable oil on the other hand is environmental friendly,
biodegradable, renewable, cheap, highly available and safer
alternative insulating and cooling medium for transformers.
The characteristics of commercially available vegetable oils vary
with the product and typical representative values of the most
vital characteristics for the use of vegetable oils as transformer oils
are presented in the following sections.
2.1.2.1. Electrical properties. All transformer oils are required to meet
the AC withstand voltage, lightening impulse and switching impulse
standards. A lot of tests have been carried out by researchers to
breakdown voltages and discharge characteristics of vegetable oils
and mineral oils from various suppliers [24].
The most important and common requirement that an insulat-
ing liquid must fulll is the AC breakdown voltage, which is
dened as the value of an applied AC voltage at which disruptive
discharge begins. A number of standard test methods are normally
used where a small volume of oil is subjected to an almost
homogeneous electric eld between two electrodes immersed in
the insulation eld. The voltages are raised until the breakdown
happens. The standard international test is that described in IEC
60156, which uses a electrode gap of 2.5 mm and a voltage rise
rate of 2 kV/s [25]. The AC breakdown is extremely sensitive to the
impurities existing in a transformer liquid, such as particulates,
excessive moisture and air or gas bubbles. Consequently the
measured AC breakdown voltage of an insulating uid mostly
 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324 311

represents the oil quality rather than oil properties itself. Moisture
can be found mainly in two forms in insulating uids: free water
or dissolved water. Polar uids tend to create hydrogen bonds with
water molecules so that water can dissolve easily. Therefore polar
liquids have extremely high water tolerance. On the other hand,
non-polar mineral oil and slightly polar silicone oil is highly
sensitive to absolute moisture content. The Fig. 1 shows the
breakdown voltages of synthetic ester, natural ester, silicone and
mineral oil at ambient temperature. It can be clearly seen that
even a small amount of moisture in mineral oil caused a rapid
deterioration in breakdown voltages whereas both types of ester
oils indicated high breakdown strength at high dissolved moisture
level. The comparison of unit life transformer with mineral oil and
natural ester is shown in Fig. 2.
2.1.2.2. Physical properties
 Viscosity
Viscosity of insulating liquid affects the ability to transfer heat by
conduction. Conduction cooling is major heat removal mechanisms
in transformers and higher viscosity would be expected to result in
higher hot spot temperatures within the transformer. Experimental
tests have indicated that application of vegetable oils in transfor-
mers resulted in increased temperatures of between 13 1C [27].
 Pour point
The pour point is the temperature at which transformer oil just
ow under the prescribed conditions. Pout point is a useful
measure to see how transformer oil will perform at low tempera-
tures, particularly when it is required to cold start a transformer at
very low temperature conditions. Vegetable oils have higher pour
point than mineral oils typically in the range  15 to  25 1C [29],
but test have indicated the successful cold start down to  30 1C.
 Operating temperature
The operating temperature of the transformer also inuences the
lifetime of the paper insulation, which degrades at rates depending
on both the insulating liquid and temperature. The experimental
test results have indicated that it is possible to operate a transfor-
mer at higher temperature using vegetable oils than with the
mineral oil. The temperature is measured not as the average but as
a hot spot temperature in the transformer windings. Higher
operating temperature means increased loading of the transformer,
an important consideration when looking at an existing plant.
 Water absorption
The water absorption of different transformer liquids at room
temperature is shown in Table 1 i.e. the total amount of
moisture content which a liquid can hold without free water
being deposited. The solubility of free water increases with
temperature in all liquids. The natural esters oils can increase
the thermal stability of paper, as they remove more moisture

Table 3
Properties of transformer uids (Typical values/Limits) [31].

Vegetable oil High temp. mineral oil Silicone 561 uid

Physical
Appearance Light yellowa Light yellow Colorless
Specic Gravity at 25 1C 0.910.92 0.89 0.96
Kinematic viscosity. (cSt)
0 1C 170250 2200 95
25 1C 5575 300 50
40 1C 3345 125 38
100 1C 810 13 16
Pour point, C  15 to  25  20 max.  50 max.
Interfacial tension (IFT), dynes/cm 25 4045 25
Flash point C 310325 275 min. 300 min.
Fire point C 354360 160180 340
Moisture content, ppm dry oil 50100 1025b 50
(water solubility at 25 1C) 1200 60 200

Thermal constants
Heat capacity, cal/g C 0.500.57 0.488 0.363
Thermal conductivity, W/mK 0.17a 0.13 0.15
Coefcient of expansion/C 0.0007 0.00073 0.00104

Chemical
Chemical type Ester Hydrocarbon Organo-silicon
0.06a 0.01 0.01
Passa Pass Pass

Electrical
Dielectric constant at 25 1C 3.1 2.2 2.71
Volume resistivity at 25 1C, Ohm cm 1014 10141015 1014

Breakdown voltage, kV
ASTM D 1816,2 mm gap electrodes 74a 60
Impulse breakdown voltage, kV(needle negative) 116a 145 136

Dissipation factor (%)

25 1C 0.25a 0.05 max.  0.01
100 1C 1.00a 0.3 max.
Grassing tendency-ASTM D2300  50a  10 to 20 N/A

Biodegradabilityc
CEC-L-33 (21 days) 9799 30 Very low

Note:
a
For BIOTEMP uid.
b
Varies with transformer rating.
c
See below.
312 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324
Fig. 3. Development of natural esters as transformer insulating liquids [26].
from solid insulation more effectively as compared to mineral
oil thus allowing either higher spot temperature or increased
equipment life.
 Stability and degradability
Vegetable oils are degradable and this property is both an
advantage and disadvantage, as if oil spill benet from degrad-
ability, oil must not be degrade inside the transformer in the
presence of oxygen. The oxidation stability of vegetable oils for
transformer is a major concern of end users. Natural esters are
more susceptible to oxidation as compared to mineral oils. To
ensure and maintain optimum performance of vegetable oils,
exposure to oxygen and moisture must be minimized. Thus
hermetic sealing against ambient air is the best way to benet
from the properties mentioned before [30].
 Flammability-ame point and ash point
The ammability of transformer oil is major safety concern in recent
years. There have been many cases of transformer explosions
resulting extensive res which are difcult to extinguish and which
spread to surrounding areas as oil leaks out. The re-point or ame
point is dened as the temperature at which the liquid surface emits
enough vapor to sustain a re for ve seconds in the presence of
ame, and the ash point as the temperature at which the uid
surface emits enough vapor to ignite in the presence of a ame. The
comparative values for different insulating uids are shown in
Table 2. It can be seen that the natural esters have values more than
300 1C compared to the 160170 1C range for mineral oils.
2.1.2.3. Environmental properties. Environmental safety is determined
by two basic factors: biodegradability and low toxicity. Generally, the
liquids which have high biodegradation rate and demonstrate low
toxicity are classied as environmental friendly. These factors are
very important when considering the application of liquids in
environmentally sensitive areas, such as water courses, to avoid
contamination. The term biodegradability reects the extent which
the uid is metabolized by natural occurring microbes in soil or water
ways, in the event of leak or spillage. Clearly it is good if the spilt liquids
disappear quickly naturally without the use expensive clean up
processes. Vegetable oils are classied as being readily biodegradable.
2.1.3. Properties of transformer-grade vegetable oil
Physical, chemical and electrical properties of vegetable oil
specically developed for transformer use are shown in Table 3
Comparison data is also given for high temperature mineral oil and
silicone uid used in transformers [31].
2.1.4. Historic evolution of vegetable oil as transformer oil
Power transformers have evolved signicantly since their
innovation a century ago, especially in terms of their functionality
and size. But one very important thing remained unchanged
during all this time, the use of mineral oil as insulating and
cooling medium. The global oil crisis of the 1970s forced the
initial search for alternatives and growing desire for environment
friendly, safe, reliable and clean power solutions.
In 1892, ester oil extracted from seeds was tested to be used as
transformer oil, but it showed no operational improvement on
mineral oil and was not commercially successful. The major
problem with this oil was high pour point and high oxidation
relative to mineral oil [32]. No serious efforts were made regarding
vegetable oils until the severe oil crises of 1970, which forced the
decision makers and researchers to think for renewable transfor-
mer oil. The last century mid eighties saw the emergence of
appliances and equipment using vegetable oils as insulating
liquids. In 1984, transformers using synthetic esters were manu-
factured. Due to their compact design and dimensions, they had
remote heat exchanger and forced circulation. These synthetic
ester oils have good lubricity, low pour point and high re point
but they had very less market acceptance to their high cost as
compared to other dielectric uids [31].
As a result of environmental regulations and liability risks
associated with non-edible oils, an extensive research work began
after 1990, which led to revisit the use of vegetable oils as
transformer oils. They have excellent dielectric and re safety
properties and they are classied as edible oils. In addition, they
are biodegradable because they have organic composition and
most importantly, they are more economical and available than
synthetic esters [33,34]. A summary of development of vegetable
oils as transformer liquids is presented in Fig. 3.
All large number of experiments was carried out with vegetable
oil as a replacement of transformer mineral oil liquid by research-
ers from various parts of the world. Most of these experiments
were reported from US, UK, China, Japan, India, Malaysia and
Europe. A summary of these experimental results is given below.
Oommen et al. [31,35] tested the new, fully biodegradable uid
from oleic vegetable oils sources for use in distribution transfor-
mers. This new build transformer uid fullled the demand for an
environmental friendly uid for transformers. A number of quali-
fying tests were performed including usual acceptance tests for
ordinary transformer oils. Oxidation stability tests were performed
as per ASTM. Other advanced test included was life testing,
biodegradability and decomposition studies. Electrical and ther-
mal decomposition were also studied. Thermal study was per-
formed with air and without air environment. The uid was found
9798% biodegradable. The decomposition products under elec-
trical and thermal stress were similar to that ordinary transformer
oil, but CO and CO2 produced were high in amount. This was an
exploratory investigation to determine the effect of uid on
transformer performance. The testing proved that the
 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324
biodegradable uid could be used as a feasible alternative liquid.
Bandent et al. from University of Karlsruhe, Germany [36] devel-
oped high oxidation stability rape seed oil with co-operation of
German oil mill. The developed oil was classied as in general not
hazardous to water according to German Federal Water Act
(WHG). Degradation rate was more than 80% within 28 days test
period. Hence developed rape-seed oil had superior health and
environmental characteristics. The investigations showed that AC,
Impulse strength were as high as Shell Diala D mineral oil. The
entire transformer test was passed successfully.
Y. Bertrand et al. [37] presented insulating and cooling liquid
which was prepared from conventional crop plants products to be
used in distribution transformers as alternative to mineral oil
liquid. This dielectric uid provided a good balance between high
functional performances inside the unit versus low impact on the
environment in the event of release. The results were compared
with unused mineral oils and organic esters specied values. The
electrical properties of vegetable oils were close to the conven-
tional insulating liquids. Specically AC breakdown strength was
as high as other mineral oils. The thermal properties (specic heat
and expansion coefcient) were also good.
Al-Ammar et al. [38] compared the breakdown characteristics
of three vegetable oils (corn, canola and palm olein oils) with
conventional mineral insulating oil. The results indicated that corn
and canola oils exhibit higher AC breakdown voltage than mineral
oil. Divakaran et al. [39] investigated impulse voltage, other
electrical and thermal characteristics of virgin and aged vegetable
oils and showed that vegetable oils have better insulation perfor-
mance. Coconut and palm oil have better dielectric strength,
viscosity, safe re and ash points and impulse voltage properties
superior to mineral transformer oil. Guo et al. [40] analyzed and
concluded that relative permittivity of mineral oil and vegetable
oil at power frequency (50 Hz) decreases with the temperature
rise. However, permittivity their relevant papers at 50 Hz was
increased rstly and then decreased with increase of temperature.
The permittivity () of vegetable oil and vegetable oil-impregnated
papers was high than that of mineral oil and mineral oil-
impregnated papers respectively, which is quite helping in redu-
cing the size of transformer. Dissipation factor (tan) at 50 Hz
increased for both kinds of oil and their corresponding oil
impregnated papers. The rising rate of dissipation factor of the
vegetable oil was high as compared to mineral oil whereas tan of
mineral oil impregnated papers was a little greater than that of
vegetable oil impregnated papers, which proved that vegetable oil
can slow down the aging of transformer insulation. Han et al. [41]
presented a new type of high re resistance transformer lled
with camellia oil. The physical, electrical and chemical properties
were measured and compared with that of mineral oil. The results
showed that camellia insulating oil has good electrical properties
and is re resistant and thus can be a good candidate to be used as
substitute for ordinary mineral oil. No-load and load loss of
camellia oil lled transformer were 30% and 3% lower than the
request value respectively. The results indicated that temperature
rise of transformer lled with camellia oil was slightly more than
that of mineral oil lled transformer suggesting that the oil gallery
structure must be improved.
Kanoh et al. [42] from Japan developed a new vegetable oil based
insulating transformer uid called PFAE (Palm Fatty Acid Ester). This
specic oil has 1.3 times higher dielectric constant and 0.6 times less
viscosity as compared to mineral oil. It means this vegetable based oil
has better insulating and cooling properties. PFAE indicated high
biodegradability than the conventional mineral oil. The ash point of
PFAE is also higher as compared to the mineral oil. The oxidative
stability was also found better than mineral oil. It was concluded that
PFAE would be much better and safer for environment than mineral
oil. Kano et al. [43] investigated oxidative stability of PFAE with
313
another vegetable oil containing unsaturated fatty acids. PFAE showed
outstanding biodegradability and oxidation stability. Kojima et al. [44]
studied PFAE and showed advantages of high permittivity, lower
kinetic viscosity, and higher ash point as compared to conventional
mineral oil. It was revealed that the essential charge mechanism
behavior was similar by comparing charge behavior and electric eld
but the relaxation time of PFAE was much lower than that of mineral
oil. Therefore it was concluded that PFAE is a better insulating liquid
for compact and environment friendly transformers.
Suwarno et al. [45] investigated the effects of temperature on
dielectric properties of Rhicinnus oils (obtained from rhicinnusco-
munnis seeds) and methyl ester obtained from rhicinnus oil. The
results showed that the rened rhicinnus oil with treatment and
methyl ester obtained from rhicinnus oil. Have outstanding
dielectric properties and compliant almost IEC standards.
Hosier et al. [46] from UK studied the thermal ageing of
vegetable based oils by various analytical techniques. The color
becomes more yellow as compared with data of mineral oils [47]
and dodecylbenzene [48] on aging, more so with copper but the
vegetable oils did not generate any solid particulates unlike
mineral oils. Sunower and Envirotemp oils behaved similarly
optically whereas olive oil seemed to be affected due to chlor-
ophyll presence by aging with copper. The viscosity of the oils was
increased with aging showing most effect on sunower oil
whereas least on the olive oil. With aging, the dielectric loss was
increased as expected [49,50,5] and Envirotemp oil indicated the
least effect of aging on dielectric loss. Sunower and olive oils
were affected by almost same degree by ageing.
Marulanda et al. [51] performed some programmed test.
Through these test, properties and characteristics of different
types of oil were analyzed. The obtained results indicated that
the useful life of transformer with vegetable oil was 42.86% greater
than the useful life of transformer lled with mineral oil. The test
results showed that the use of vegetable oil improved the
performance of transformers, prolonged useful life, lowered rates
of failure.Jung-II Jeong et al. [52] thermally aged transformer lled
with vegetable oil and mineral oil and concluded results that
vegetable oil have better insulation characteristics as compared to
the mineral oil. Alexandra Ciuriuc et al. [53] presented compara-
tive study related to the ageing of vegetable and mineral oils used
in power transformers. The samples of vegetable and mineral oil
were accelerated thermally aged and their dielectric properties
(real part of complex permittivity, dissipation factor and resistiv-
ity) were found at different ageing times. The results showed
values of relative permittivity and loss factor for vegetable oil were
high as compared to the mineral oil while the resistivity of
vegetable was lower than that of mineral oil. The color of mineral
oil samples was changed with the ageing time whereas in the case
of vegetable oil samples, the color change was not signicant. The
variation rate of vegetable oil's real part of permittivity, dissipation
factor and resistivity decreased with time while that of mineral oil
had increasing tendency. Dumitran et al. [54] showed the effect of
moisture content on the electrical properties of vegetable oil and
mineral oil. For mineral oil, a correlation was found between the
variation of moisture content and dielectric properties. But in case
of vegetable oil, it was observed that there is no evident relation-
ship between water content with the dielectric properties. It
meant that moisture content is not suitable diagnostic factor to
estimate the aging condition of vegetable oil. A possible descrip-
tion could be that moisture content did not contribute to a
variation in dielectric properties of the oil but the variation is
due to the degradation products resulting from chemical reactions
that take place between moisture and oil.
Hemmer et al. [55] from Germany investigated and showed
that stabilized rape-seed oil RAPSOLT have good compatibility
with conventional used transformer board. AC breakdown voltage
314 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324

Fig. 4. Oil seeds used to extract oil.

Table 4
Typical Fatty acid composition of some vegetable oils [5].

Vegetable oil Saturated fatty acids (%) Unsaturated Fatty Acids (%)

Fig. 6. Flash point andrepoint of different insulating liquids used transformers [64].
Mono- Di- Tri-

Canola oila 7.9 55.9 22.1 11.1

Corn oil 12.7 24.2 58 0.7
Cottonseed oil 25.8 17.8 51.8 0.2
Peanut oil 13.6 17.8 51.8 0.2
Oilve oil 13.2 73.3 7.9 0.6
Safower oil 8.5 12.1 74.1 0.4
Safower oil, high oleic 6.1 75.3 14.2
Soyabean oil 14.2 22.5 51 6.8
Sunower oil 10.5 19.6 65.7
Sunower oil, high oleic 9.2 80.8 8.4 0.2

a
low erucic acid variety of rape-seed oil; more recently canola oil containg
over 75% monounsaturate content has been developed.

Fig. 7. Fire point of different samples at different ageing conditions [39].

Fig. 5. Degree of biodegradability [63].

of pressboard impregnated with RAPSOLT was quite high. More-

over, accelerated ageing of rape seed oil impregnated paper
insulation did not inuence dielectric losses as much as for
mineral oil impregnation. From this point of view, rape seed oil
can be suitable impregnate for use in HV transformer. Liao et al.
[56] found that BIOTEMP oil could decrease rate of degradation of
paper and extend the life-time of paper insulation of transformers.
McShane et al. [57] found that thermally upgraded Kraft paper
ages considerably slower in the ester dielectric liquid than in
ordinary mineral oil under similar thermal stress. Paper aged 58
times longer in the natural ester to reach the same end-of-life
points as paper aged in mineral oil at 170 1C in sealed vessels. Yang
et al. [58] also studied the effects of vegetable oil on the aging of
Kraft paper using the accelerated thermal aging test. It was
demonstrated that the useful life of Kraft paper can be increased
by using vegetable oil for insulation. Gasser et al. [59] subjected
high density pressboard to accelerated ageing tests with different
vegetable oils, mineral oils and synthetic ester and found that the
initial rate of aging was the same for mineral oils and ester oils. For
ester oils, reaction with water was observed after certain aging
time, depending on the aging condition. From then on, the aging of
pressboard in ester oils slowed remarkably. At high temperatures
and high moisture content, the ester oils consumed some of water
Fig. 8. Flash point of different samples at different ageing conditions [39].
hydrolysis, thus preventing the rise of moisture content in the
pressboard and slowing down the deterioration of cellulose.
2.2. Production and usage of vegetable oil
The researchers soon recognized that vegetable oils required
further improvements to be used as transformer liquid. The liquid
in sealed transformer remains in the unit for many years (3040 years
if not changed in between). Vegetable oil inherently has some
components that degrade in relatively short time. The degree of un-
saturation in an indication of thermal instability becomes more
unstable as the degree of saturation progresses from mono to tri
unsaturation. The relative instability to oxidation is roughly
1:10:100:200 for saturated, mono, di, and tri unsaturated C-18
triglycerides [60].The presence of copper in transformer enhances
oxidation tendency so powerful oxidation inhibitors are needed for
the oils used in transformers. Another factor is purity of the oil. The oil
has to be free of conducting particles to acceptable levels, and
commercial-grade oils are not available with this purity level.
 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324
Fig. 9. Viscosity of different samples at different ageing conditions [12].
Fig. 10. Percentage of gas generated by BIOTEMPs and Envirotemp FR3s [38].
Fig. 11. Gases produced by vegetable oil (BIOTEMPs) [5].
The development of vegetable oil is a multistage process. First
step is to select suitable oil and second is to purify it to electrical
grade. Finally it is stabilized for the harsh environment in the
transformer. These stages are explained briey as follows.
2.2.1. Base uid selection
Vegetable oil seeds have two main components, the oil part
and the solid part having protein called meal part. The oil is
extracted from crude base by a process designated as RDB which
stands for Rened, Bleached and Deodorized. The commercially
available RDB grade is the starting material. To extract the oily
part, hydrocarbon solvents are used and then the solvents are
removed. It is followed by rening and bleaching which involves
treatment by absorbent clay and ltration. In deodorization
process superheated steam is used to remove odor causing
volatiles. In addition a winterization process is used to remove
easily freezing saturate fats [5].
Fig. 4 shows typical oil seeds used from which oils are extracted
and processed for transformer use.
2.2.2. Oil processing
The RDB has conducting impurities above an acceptable limit to
be used as transformer oil. Therefore further purications are
315
Fig. 12. Gases produced by vegetable oil and mineral oil [5].
Fig. 13. Comparison of oxidation stability of vegetable oil and mineral oil [42].
needed. Since the standard clay treatment is not enough so high
absorbent neutral clay is used until the conductivity becomes to an
acceptable value (usually below 1pS/m).
2.2.3. Stabilization of the oil
The vegetable oils become degraded when air oxidation will occur
due to the inherent unsaturation of all vegetable oils. The oxidation rate
is low for monounsaturated oils and high for triunsaturate oils
(e.g. linseed oil with high triunsaturate content, a typical drying oil).
The antioxidants can be used to protect vegetable oil from oxidation.
The vegetable oil used as transformer oil should be subjected to the
oxidation test. Though transformers are usually sealed, leaks and
periodic maintenance operations could expose the oil to atmosphere.
Over a period of years the oil could degrade.
2.2.4. Improving pour point
Vegetable oils freeze at higher temperatures as compared to the
mineral oil which has pour pint less than 40 1C. The freezing
temperatures would vary from oil to oil due to the different
composition of every oil. The high saturate content in oil would
enhance the freezing point. Unsaturated oils have pour point in the
range of  1020 1C. The depressant derived from polymethylacrylate
(PMA) can be used to further lower the pour point of the oil. The pour
point can be decreased by 101 without affecting conductivity by using
depressant value below one percent in concentration. It may be noted
that the addition of depressants and antioxidants into the oil make it
unsuitable for food consumption.
2.2.5. Chemical composition of vegetable oil
The crude oil obtained from oil seeds is dark in color and also
contain solid constitutes such as bers, proteins and liquid (oil and
fats). Both oil and fats are triglyceride esters of fatty acids, but fats
contain relatively high percentage of saturated triglycerides and
would freeze to solid below room temperature. The oily part
normally remains liquid above 0 1C; oils with high unsaturation
may remain as liquid at  1530 1C. The triglyceride ester
316 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324

Fig. 14. AC breakdown strength of different types of oils with respect to moisture [65].

Fig. 15. Impulse breakdown strength of different oils [65].

Fig. 17. Breakdown voltage values of 30 days thermally aged samples at different
gap distance [12].
Fig. 16. Breakdown voltage values of virgin oil samples at different gap distance [12].

molecule may be represented as 3. Performance comparison of vegetable oil vs. mineral oil

CH2  OOCR1
j are obtained by petroleum distillation and followed by treatment with
CH  OOCR2
j
CH2  OOCR3
Where R1, R2 and R3 are fatty acid chains of same or different types.
Saturated fatty acids with 8 to 22 carbon atoms are found in oils. Fatty
acids with one unsaturated bond have 10 to 22 carbon atoms. Fatty
acids with di-and tri-unsaturation mostly have 18 carbon atoms [5]. In
Table 4, the fatty acid composition of some vegetable oils is shown.
Mineral oil, used as cooling insulating liquids in power transformers,
sulfuric acid renery. The nal characteristics of conventional mineral oil
depend on the chemical composition [61]. On the other hand, vegetable
oils are related to a group of organic compounds which are produced by
reaction of an acid with the alcohol. Vegetable oils are natural ester
molecules with triglyceride structure, produced from the chemical
linkage of three fatty acids to one glycerol molecule [62]. The use of
vegetable oils is increasing due to its advantages over mineral oils.
Vegetable oils have high biodegradability (Fig. 5), therefore they are more
environment-friendly [63].
 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324
Fig. 18. (a) mineral oil impregnated pressboard and (b) Ester impregnated pressboard [40].
Fig. 19. Breakdown voltage vs. kind of impregnation uid comparison of unaged
and aged test samples [55].
Fig. 20. Dissipation factors of aged and unaged samples [55].
3.1. Biodegradability
3.1.1. Flash, re point and viscosity
The ash point andrepoint of different insulating liquids used
transformers is shown in Fig. 6 [64].
Divakaran et al. [39] also studied and investiagted thermal
charactiritics of mineral oil (virgin and aged) and vegetable oils
(virgin and aged) and the result showed vegetable oils have better
thermal performance. Coconut and palm oil have safe re, ash
pints, re point and viscosity as shown in Figs. 79.
3.1.2. Gases produced after aging
The liquids used in transformers for cooling and insulation
experience thermal and electrical stress, so it is very important to
determine the inuence of these stresses.Gas generation is the
most easy meausered property, and it is meaningful to study
generation of gas after aging in the presence of Cu for certain
period of time. Fig. 10 shows the percentage of gas generated in a
test carried out by Double Engineering Lab on some specic
vegetable oil uids for 22 days and 250 1C [38].
317
Fig. 21. Relative permittivity of aged and unaged samples [55].
The major difference in the decomposition products, as compared
to hydrocarbons liquids, is the production of CO and CO2 in large
amount. This is because ester liquids contain carbonyl group-COO,
which breaks down to give CO and CO2. Hydrogen is produced due to
additives in the oil as in case of FR3 uid. The hydrogen, methane, CO
and CO2 are main products under partial discharge conditions. The
methane and hydrogen generation is same as their production from
mineral oils and result from extraction of hydrogen atoms from
molecular framework under electric eld. Fig. 11 shows Gases
produced by BIOTEMPs uid and compares with transformer oil
degradation [39]. The gases produced for mineral oil-based transfor-
mer oil are: hydrogen and acetylene under arcing conditions whereas
CO and CO2 are produced in large quantities in addition for vegetable
oils. The comparison of gas generation for vegetable oils (BIOTEMPs)
and mineral oil is shown in Fig. 12 [39]. It was concluded that total gas
produced by vegetable oil was only one-fourth of the gas produced
from conventional transformer oil. This indicates the arc-quenching
capability of vegetable oils is high.
3.1.3. Oxidation stability
Takaaki Kanoh et al. [42] performed oxidation stability experi-
ments and showed that there was a little change in both total acid
value and breakdown voltage of vegetable oil (PFAE). Therefore,
oxidation stability of PFAE was determined to be superior to
mineral oil as shown in Fig. 13.
3.1.4. Breakdown strength
The breakdown strength of oil is affected by water content present
in the oil. The AC breakdown strength of different types of oils with
respect to moisture (ppm) and moisture (%RH) is shown in Fig. 14.
The impulse breakdown strength of different types of oils with
respect to moisture (ppm) and moisture (%RH) is shown in Fig. 15.
It is concluded from above gures that dielectric strength of
ester oils less affected by moisture than mineral oil.
Dijin Divakaran et al. [40] also studied and investiagted
dielectric charactiritics of mineral oil (virgin and aged) and
318 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324

Table 5
Comparison transformer dielectric uids-typical values [22].

Mineral oils Silicone oils Synthetic esters Vegetable oils Test method

Dielectric breakdown, kV 3085 3560 4570 8297 IEC 60156

Relative permittivity at 25 1C 2.12.5 2.62.9 3.03.5 3.13.3 IEC 60247
Viscosity at 0 1C, mm2 s  1 o76 8192 2650 14377 ISO 3104
at 40 1C, 316 3540 1429 1637
100 1C 22.5 1517 46 48
Pour point, C  30 to  60  50 to  60  40 to  50  19 to  33 ISO 3016
Flash point, C 100170 300310 250270 315328 ISO 2592(1)
Fire point, C 110185 340350 300310 350360
Density at 20 1C,kg dm3 0.830.89 0.961.10 0.901.00 0.870.92 ISO 3675
Specic heat,J g  1 K  1 1.62.0 1.5 1.82.3 1.52.1 ASTM E1269
Thermal conductivity, W m  1 K  1 0.110.16 0.15 0.15 0.160.17 (DCS)
Expansion coefcient, 104 K  1 79 10 6.510 5.55.9 ASTM D1903

(1) Cleveland open cup procedure.

Fig. 22. Examples of streamer in JMEO (a) and mineral oil (b) under negative impulse voltage, d 30.

vegetable oils (virgin and aged) and the result showed vegetable
oils have better dielectric insulation performance. Coconut and
palm oil have dielectric strength and impulse voltage characteri-
tics as shown in Figs. 16 and 17.
The results of AC stress test for mineral oil pressboard and
ester-pressboard are shown in Fig. 18; these results are in favor of
the ester impregnated pressboard [40].
Hemmer et al. [55] investigated different samples of mineral oil and
rape-seed oil and showed that rape-seed oil RAPSOLT have good
compatibility with ordinary transformer mineral oil. Especially the AC
breakdown strength of pressboard impregnated with RAPSOLT was
quite high. Moreover, accelerated aging of RAPSOLT impregnated paper
insulation did not inuence dielectric losses as much as for mineral oil
impregnation. From this point it can be concluded that rape-seed oil can
be a good alternate for insulation in high voltage transformers. The
results of breakdown, dielectric loss and relative permittivity compar-
ison of mineral oil and vegetable oil samples is shown in Figs. 1921.
Bertrand et al. [22] demonstrate the characteristics of different oils
to be used in transformers. A summary of the results is shown in
Table 5 along with the properties of different existing dielectric liquids.
3.1.5. Streamer initiation and propagation
Sitorus et al. [77] studied experimentally streamer phenomenon in
jatropha curcas methyl ester oil (JMEO) and mineral oil under positive
and negative lightening impulse voltages. The streamer pattern is
shown in Figs. 22 and 23.The negative streamers in mineral oil are
 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324
Fig. 23. Examples of streamer in JMEO (a) and mineral oil (b) under positive impulse voltage, d 30.
highly lamentary and luminous as compared to those in JMEO. There
was not obvious difference between positive streamers shapes in both
of the liquids. Base on the shape and stopping length, the author
concluded that JMEO could constitute a potential substitute for mineral
and other synthetic oils for electric insulation particularly in high
voltage power transformers.
3.1.6. Partial discharge and thermal aging
Chandrasekar et al. presented a comparative assessment of the PD
characteristics of thermally aged samples (natural esters and mineral
oil). Time and frequency domain analysis of PD pulse are used. This
work collected typical PD patterns from natural ester liquid in order
to see its suitability high voltage power transformer applications [7].
The gures PD properties of natural esters are shown in Figs. 24 and
25. The inuence of thermal aging on breakdown strength seems
much less on natural ester liquids as compared to mineral oil. Lower
PD activity was seen in palm and corn oils as compared to mineral oil.
3.1.7. Recent research work carried on vegetable oils
A lot of research work has been carried out recently on vegetable
oils as transformer oils by different researchers. A summary of current
work on vegetable oils as transformer oils is shown in Table 6.
4. Advantages
From the literature review available in the eld of vegetable oil usage,
many advantages are noticeable. The following are some of the advan-
tages of using vegetable oil as transformer oil [5,36,22,39,46,6685]
319
4.1. Environment friendly and adapted to sensitive areas
The vegetable oil immersed transformers have become as one of
the cleanest types of product available in the market today. The
vegetable oil is made of food-grade seeds and is not considered as
dangerous by international authorities such as EPA (Environmental
Protection Agency) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and health
Administration). It is biodegradable and non-toxic with recycling rate
of more than 99%. It can be used near water points, elds and forests
because of its water hazard classication of zero. It contains low
aromatics and sulphur content and hence is environment friendly.
4.2. High sustainable efciency
As compared to the conventional mineral oil, the vegetable oil
has a better health and environmental prole. It is biodegradable,
so its spill away management solutions are easy. It also has ability
to absorb moisture contained in the aging paper, so increase the
insulation life of paper. It also helps chemically to prevent long
cellulose paper molecules from aging due to heat exposure. These
properties can increase the transformer insulation life and over-
loading capability. It can be used within the existing electric power
infrastructure (with minor or no modication of transformer).
4.3. Less ammable product
Vegetable oil dielectric liquid has a high re point as is classied as
less-ammable dielectric coolant. Thus vegetable oil liquid does not
contribute to an external re and the products of combustion are non-
toxic. Therefore vegetable oil is well adapted to installation in hazar-
dous industrial area with high risk levels such as steel plants, Oil and
Gas off-shore installations, Wind power farms, etc.
320 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324

4.4. Customer benets 4.6. Renewable fuel

The vegetable oil lled transformers are normally installed indoors The vegetable oil is a renewable fuel that can be obtained from
and tightly spaces outdoor, typically without additional re safety agricultural crops and other feed stocks that are considered as waste.
measures. They also provide great risk mitigation of collateral damage
from re or explosion. They provide enhanced re behavior, low risks
to human health and increased overload withstand.
5. Technical difculties and challenges and research gap

4.5. Strengthen agricultural economy 5.1. Technical difculties

The development of vegetable oil industry would strengthen the The major technical areas (with respect to the use of vegetable
domestic and specially the rural agricultural economy of agricultural oils as insulation liquid in transformers), which need further
based countries and it will help to reduce the costly mineral oil imports. attention is listed as following [5,4245, 6685]:

Fig. 24. Partial discharge pattern obtained for rod-plane electrode, conguration of unaged (left) and 30 days thermally aged (right) oils, (a) mineral oil (b) palm oil and
(c) corn oil. Test voltage 25 kV.
 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324 321

Fig. 25. Partial discharge pattern obtained for rod-plane electrode, conguration after 45 days of thermal stress, without copper (left) and with, copper (right) (a) mineral oil
(b) palm oil and (c) corn oil. Test voltage 25 kV.

(i) More studies and research is needed to the reduce the
production cost, develop low cost feed stocks and identify
potential markets in order to balance cost and availability.
(ii) Continued transformer performance and durability in a vari-
ety of transformer types and sizes need to be developed to
increase manufacture and consumer condence.
(iii) Environmental advantages offered by vegetable oil over
mineral oil must be advertised.
(iv) Develop of additives for improving of cold ow properties, preven-
tion of oxidation while storage and material compatibility etc.
(v) Study of the effects of oxidized liquid on transformer perfor-
mance and durability.
5.2. Special challenges and research gap
The major challenges that face the use of vegetable oil as
transformer oil are listed as follows [1,42,6678]:
(i) The price of vegetable oil dependent on the feed stock price.
(ii) Storage and handling of vegetable oil is difcult.
(iii) Homogeneity of the product depends on the supplier, feed
stocks and production methods.
(iv) Acceptance by transformers manufacturers in another issue.
(v) Continuous availability of the vegetable oil needs to be
assured before embarking on major use of it in transformers.
 322
Table 6
Summary of the recent research work carried out on vegetable oils as transformer oils.

Properties Kiyoshi Takamoto et al. Villarroel et al. [83] Shuhan Yaol et al. [84] Zhengjiang Wang et al. [85]

TM TM
PFAE OIl Rapsead oil Mineral oil Bio Electra Bio Temp Geminix FR3 Cammellia oil Mineral oil

Electrical Dielectric strength (kV) 81/2.5 mm 74/2.5 mm 7075/2.5 mm 65 65 Z 35 56

Relative permittivity 2.95@80 1C 2.86@80 1C 2.2@80 1C 2.2@90 1C 3.0@90 1C
Tan 3.1  103@80 1C 8.3  102@80 1C 1  103@80 1C r 0.1@90 1C 4  1010 @90 1C
Volume Resistivity 7.1  1012 4.4  1012 7.6  1015 1  1012 @90 1C 4  1010 @90 1C
Physical Viscosity mm2/s 5.06@40 1C 36@40 1C 8.13@40 1C r 13@40 1C r34.1@40 1C 39.9@40 1C r 13@40 1C
cSt 39.2@40 1C 45@40 1C
Flash point 1C 176 334 152 330 330 Z 135 316 322 4135
Fire point 1C
Pour point 1C  32.5  27.5  45  26  15 o  22  21  28 o  22

M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324

Density g/cm3 0.86@20 1C 0.92@20 1C 0.88@20 1C
Kg/m2 o 0.895@20 1C 0.91@20 1C 0.90@20 1C r 13@20 1C
Environmental Total Acid value (mgKOH g  1) r 0.03 0.04 0.04 r 0.03
Toxity Non-toxic Non-toxic Slightly toxic
Biodegradability high high low
source Sunower seeds Sunower seeds
Appearance Transparent Light green Light yellow Transparent

Properties Achmad Susilo et al. [81] Gmez et al. [82] Yanuar Z. Arief et al. [78]

Mineral oil PFAE Bivolt A Bivolt HW FR3 Mineral oil Palm oil Coconet oil Sunower oil

Electrical Dielectric strength (kV) 7075/2.5 mm 85 50 50 48 57 75 60 3845

Relative permittivity 2.2@80 1C 2.95@80 1C 3.1@40 2.79@20 1C 3.1@25 1C
Tan 0.001@40 1C 0.31@80 1C 1.6@100 1C 0.77@100 1C 1.9@100 1C 0.08@100 1C 0.03@25 1C 0.08@20 1C 0.0093@25 1C
Volume Resistivity 7.6  1015 7.1  1012
Physical Viscosity mm2/s 8.13@401C 5@401C 300@251C 29.8 31.6@40 1C 43@401C
cSt 36.6@40 1C 40.1@40 1C 36.7@40 1C 10@40 1C
Flash point 1C 152 176 308 308 314 138 4 220 225 o 330
Fire point 1C 342 338 338 148
Pour point 1C  45  32.5
Density g/cm3 0.88@40 1C 0.86@40 1C
Kg/m2 0.9@15 1C 0.917@20 1C 0.919@20 1C
Environmental Total Acid value (mgKOH g  1) 0.04 r0.03 0.07 0.02 0.02
Toxity o0.01 0.05
Biodegradability
source Corn ower Sunower Soya oil Petroleum
Appearance
 M. Raq et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 308324
(vi) The vegetable oil usage in transformers that are exposed to
cold weather has been as issue. The pour point of vegetable
oils does not go below  30 1C even after adding depressants.
Without additives, the uid could freeze at subzero
temperatures.
(vii) The transformer units having vegetable oil should be sealed
well to prevent air and moisture from entering the unit.
Antioxidants in sufcient amount should be present in the
sealed unit because of possible entry of air and moisture
during the life of the unit.
6. Conclusion
Researchers in many countries carried out a lot of experimental
works using vegetable oils as transformer oil substitutes. The use
of vegetable oil as transformer oil can play a vital role in helping
the world to reduce the environmental impact of mineral oils. The
development of vegetable oil uid fullls current requirements for
an environmentally friendly transformer liquid. Though environ-
mental benets are of great current interest, in the future, when
petroleum products are eventually going to run out, and there
could be serious shortages even by the mid-twenty rst century.
Fortunately the groundwork has been laid already by the devel-
opment of suitable transformer liquid. Other possible applications
for this liquid would be circuit breakers, tap changers, cables and
capacitors. Further exploitation of these liquids for these applica-
tions need further study and tests.
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