Study on the synthesis and characterization of soybean based transformer oils

대두유 에스테르계 절연유의 합성과 분석

Electrical insulation is one of the most important parts in a high voltage apparatus. Traditionally mineral oils and synthetic esters have been widely used as dielectric coolants for power transformers. Recently, researchers are interested in the environmental friendly vegetable oil from environmental viewpoint. This paper reports on the synthesis and characterization of soybean based ester oils. Two different types of soybean based transformer oils, named as methyl ester and isopropyl ester were synthesized. The synthesis of these esters was achieved by transesterification reactions of soybean oil and alcohol in the presence of catalyst. The GC and NMR spectroscopic analysis of the esters have been performed. The thermal stability of the esters was determined by thermal gravimetric analysis(TGA).