PAG-based Turbine Fluid-Five Years of Varnish Free Performance

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1 PAG-based Turbine Fluid-Five Years of Varnish Free Performance Govind Khemchandani, Ph. D. The Dow Chemical Company Freeport, TX, USA 2013 STLE Annual Meeting, May 5-9, 2013, at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan govind

2 Presentation Objectives Polyalkylene Glycols( PAGs) Chemistry and Varnish Free Technology Characteristics -PAG-based Turbine Fluid In-Service Monitoring of Turbine Oils

3 Polyalkylene Glycol Technology Typical Synthesis Route to Polyalkylene Glycols Initiator (ROH) catalyst + +/or PAG ethylene oxide (EO) propylene oxide (PO) High performance synthetic lubricants Types of PAGs by chemical family Homo-polymers of EO Solve problems that mineral oils cannot Synthesized from ethylene oxide and propylene oxide Flexible chemistry polymers can be tailor designed to meet many requirements Extensively researched over 60 years Homo-polymers of PO Block copolymers of EO/PO Reverse block copolymers of EO/PO Random copolymers of EO/PO PAGs can be designed to have a wide range of molecular weights, viscosities and functional performance

4 What is different? CHEMICAL COMPOSITION: POLYALKYLENE GLYCOL VS. HYDROCARBON OILS Degradation by-products of hydrocarbon oils are polar compounds but not soluble in non-polar base oil Mineral Oil Petroleum- based Hydrocarbon Group I Base stock PAO- Poly Alpha Olefin- Synthetic Hydrocarbon Oil Group IV Non-Polar Heavily additized for oxidation stability and has poor solvency R1 O PAG Poly Alkylene Glycol Base Fluid Group V H(Me) O H(Me) O H(Me) O H(Me) O H(Me) O H(Me) O R2 Polar Inherently thermooxidatively stable with high VI Degradation by-products of PAGs are polar compounds soluble in polar parent base oil

5 TURBO COMPRESSORS - Varnish Elimination 10+ Years Experience Over 100,000 Installations Group I-III Produce Heavy Sludge and Varnish Group IV s Produce Hard Yellow Varnish PAG Technology is Non-Varnishing Polyalkylene Glycol Chemistry Produces NO SLUDGE These Applications Are More Challenging Than Typical Turbine Conditions Leveraged experience to solve varnish problems in gas turbines that used hydrocarbon based fluids

6 Evidence of Technical Solution TURBINE FLUID CONVERSONS, Hours Converted 26 gas turbines since November 07 All fluid conditions track well Consistent measurements of TAN, Particle Count, Metals, AO, & Water Content Base Load, 48K Hrs Peaker, 18K Hrs Base Load, 30K Hr Peaker, New Install

7 Factors Affecting Service Life of Turbine Lubricant Type and Design of System: similar in design larger units Condition of System on Start-Up: cleaning and flushing Original Oil Quality: The base line sample for comparison System Operating Conditions: air, temperature, metals etc. Contamination: Outside and oil degradation, condensation Oil Make Up Rate: 5%-30%/yr, Low rate <5% a truer picture Handling and Oil Storage: cleanliness

8 PAG-based Turbine Fluid: Monitoring Tests Sample Base Line PAGbased-Turbine Fluid 5 Years, Peaker Hours 5 Years Base Load Hours GE Specs GEK 32568G ASTM D 445 Viscosity ASTM D 6304 KF Water ASTM D 6971 Ruler % Min NOV ASTM D 2272 Minutes % Min NOV Particle Count ISO /11/9 14/13/11 15/12/10 - ICP ASTM D Sodium Calcium Zinc Phosphorous

9 Total Acid Number

10 Foaming & Air release

11 Corrosion Characteristics Sample Base Line PAGbased-Turbine Fluid 5 Years, Peaker 18,000, Hrs 5 Years Base Load 48,000 Hrs ASTM D 4378 & 6224 ASTM D 665 A Rust Prevention Pass No Corrosion No Corrosion Light Fail ASTM D Copper Corrosion 1A 1B 1B -

12 Base Load Turbine - Filter Analysis Experimental: Filter Analysis Method: Oblique reflected light microscopy (LM) Instrument: Leica WILD MZ-16 stereo-zoom light microscope equipped with a Nikon DXM 1200 digital camera and ACT-1 image acquisition software Sample Preparation: samples were imaged using oblique reflected light (fiber optic light and ring lamp) Extracted Oil subjected to ICP analysis All metals were <1 ppm (Fe, Ni,Al,Sn,Ag,Cr, Pb,Si,B) K, Ca were <10ppm

13 Base Load Turbine - Filter Analysis Four Years Used Last Chance Filter Tear Down Last Chance Filter AEP Turbine This photo shows the filter body, the paper element, stainless steel mesh element, and the wire screen element. Filter Filter Body/Baffle with Ends ends Stainless Steel Mesh Paper Filter Filter Wire Screen Stainless Steel Mesh Wire screen

14 Conclusions In-service monitoring of PAG based Turbine Fluid track well after 48 thousand hours of use in GE Heavy Duty 7 FA Gas Turbines Polyalkylene Glycols( PAGs) Technology help Varnish and deposit control in Heavy Duty Gas Turbine applications

15 THANK YOU (979) cell: (804)