Effects of temperature on dielectric properties of rhicinnus oils as insulating liquid

Recently many researchers are attempting to find biodegradable liquid insulating materials. This is because the conventionally used mineral oils are non renewable which is going run out in the future and non biodegradable which may harmful to environment. Biodegradable liquid insulating materials in general can be obtained from vegetables, flowers and seeds. Some of them have been commercialized and being used as liquid insulation for high voltage power transformers. We have investigated the Rhicinnus oils with various grades and considered the oil as a candidate for biodegradable liquid insulating material. This paper reports the experimental results on the effects of heating/temperature on the dielectric properties of Rhicinnus oils. The samples used including crude Rhicinnus oil, refined Rhicinnus oil, refined Rhicinnus oil with treatment and methyl ester obtained from Rhicinnus oil. The dielectric properties investigated in this experiment were breakdown voltage, losses factor (tan delta), dielectric constant, viscosity, and neutralization number. The effects of temperature on the dissolved gasses in oil were also investigated. Comparison between the oil characteristics and those from mineral oils are also presented. The results indicated that refined rhicinnus oil and methyl ester obtained from Rhicinnus oil have good enough dielectric properties to be used as liquid insulating materials.