CANADA -- A leading pharmaceutical company in Toronto has selected MIDEL's canola crop-based ester fluid to retrofill a delta-wye transformer at its corporate headquarters.
A Canadian-made, on-site transformer, rated at 4500/6000 kVA 27.6 kV-600/347 V delta-wye was acquired in 2012, with mineral oil as its insulating fluid.
The pharmaceutical company was advised by an Ontario-based HV Maintenance Contractor to consider replacing the mineral oil due to its slow rate of biodegradability and potential flammability. The HV contractor recommended retrofilling the transformer with a biodegradable MIDEL ester fluid.
The pharmaceutical company chose a K-class MIDEL fluid sustainably sourced from canola crops, with a fire point of >300°C compared to mineral oil's fire point of 170°C. The fluid also provides superior cold weather performance with its pour point of -31°C, MIDEL said in a press release.
Retrofilling the transformer ensured that in the event of the unit rupturing and leaking insulating fluid, the environmental damage would be mitigated; clean-up costs would also be dramatically reduced and there would be no risk of a pool fire due to ester fluid's low calorific value.
