What is the Best Way to Remove Water from Large Oil Systems?
Rafe sits down with Peter Dufresne – Executive Vice President at EPT Clean Oil to discuss all things regarding varnish and varnish remediation. What is…
Category: Hydraulic Oils
What is Micro Dieseling of Lubricating Oils?
Microdieseling is pressure-induced thermal degradation of oil. An air bubble moves from a low or negative pressure zone to an area of high pressure. The air undergoes…
For micro-dieseling to occur, we need air bubbles to enter to pump. Entrained air will do this naturally, but hydraulic systems are designed to operate with a regular amount of entrained air. Issues tend to arise when an abnormally high amount of entrained air enters the system by:
What follows is a compression of the air bubble, which contains hydrocarbons at the oil interface. You will already be familiar with how a diesel engine works. During compression, the mixture of the sprayed gasoline and the rising temperature of the compressed air results in ignition. Your oil will turn black because the burnt fuel is not fully converted to water or carbon dioxide, forming soot and tars. This is normal for diesel engines. Engine oils contain detergents and dispersants to handle high levels of soot without needing to be changed.
When the same phenomenon occurs in hydraulic oils, it leads to: