Silicone-polyether Copolymers as New Steam Turbine Oil Demulsifiers

Abstract

Turbine oil plays an important role in supporting optimal steam turbine performance. Some additives in turbine oil can cause emulsification when the oil is contaminated by water, so demulsibility is a very important property of the steam turbine oil. In order to improve the demulsibility of steam turbine oil, two kinds of polyether-silicone comb copolymers are synthesized and used as steam turbine oil demulsifiers. The polyether-silicone copolymers present better demulsibility properties than the demulsifiers on the market at the present time. The influences of demulsifiers on turbine oil-water interfacial tension and demulsibility time were measured. All the demulsifiers obviously decrease interfacial tension andsimultaneously reduced the demulsibility time. The variation tendency of interfacial tension and demulsibility time is basically consistent. The oil-water interfacial elastic modulus and viscous modulus were also measured as a function of strain and frequency respectively. The results showed that the demulsifiers decrease the oil-water interfacial elastic modulus, which was favorable to the demulsification.