CASTOR SEED BIO - TRANSFORMER OIL AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL TRANSFORMER OIL

In search of solution to the harmful ecological problems due to toxicity and non - biodegradability posed by conventional transformer insulation oil (mineral oil), the prod uction of transformer oil from castor seed oil (vegetable oil) was carried out. The oil was extracted using N - hexane and was refined. The transformer oil was produced by trans - esterif ication and was characterized using American Society for Testing Material (ASTM) standard test . The solvent employed gave good yield of oil from the seeds. The r esults of characterization show that the density 0.987 (g ml ? 1 ), viscosity 7.01 (cst), Flash Point 253 o C an d dielectric strength of 23(KV) values, of Castor seed oil as transformer oil produced under optimized conditions meet the ASTM standard and was within the acceptable limits as transformer oil . These showed that castor seed oil is a potential feed stock for production transformer oil