Potential Characterization of Bush Mango Oil for Application in Transformer Insulation

Abstract

In recent times, the suitability of some oils from edible fruits as a replacement for mineral oils used in transformers has been proven in different literature. The use of edible oils as transformer insulation fluid gives rise to the concept of green insulation in transformers. Research in the use of edible oil in the production of transformer oil has been one of the major researches in high voltage engineering. The existence of paucity of knowledge on the use of bush mango oil as dielectric fluid in transformers led to the idea of this research work. Therefore, this study focuses on the investigation of the suitability of using Irvingia Gabonensis Oil (IGO) for insulation in power transformers. From the series of analyses conducted, it has been established that the Irvingia Gabonensis (Bush Mango) oil is not suitable for transformer insulation oil. This is because the biobased green oil produced presented characteristics that are not suitable to match the standards recommended by the International Electrochemical Commission (IEC) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).