The effective chemical removal of varnish from turbine and centrifugal compressor to optimize performance

Understanding Varnish Understanding Varnish

Varnish is one of the common issues circulating oil systems causing huge operation setbacks to businesses that can result in various issues in equipment such as valve sticking, poor heat or even bearing failure. These problems shorten the oil life and the efficiency of the equipment.

 

Typically, in this case, chemical cleaners are added to the in-service oil at a 1-20% concentration. To avoid affecting the equipment performance over the long-term performance, it is better to be done before a scheduled oil change. The mixture of oil, cleaner mixture and any varnish or contaminants circulating in the system then gets drained, rinsed out and then replaced with fresh new oil. 

 

In some cases, some cleaners require the varnish to be extracted from the oil. This removal depends on four factors. The right chemistry to help disperse the varnish in the oil, the amount of time the cleaner is in the system - the longer, the better, and finally temperature. The higher the oil flow over a surface, the more effective the varnish removal. 

 

Other solutions offer operation managers better flexibility to varnish removal from the system in a span of a short period. Varnish released is usually the blame of filter plugging during varnish cleaning. Even during the normal oil change, completely draining the system from oil dissolved varnish, and other contaminants, complete draining is vital.

 

Another process is the displacement flush with simple piping running where a small oil quality is pushed once through using an external pump. All of which are expensive and time-consuming solutions compared to state-of-the-art VARTECH Industrial System Cleaner (ISC). 

 

VARTECH Industrial System Cleaner ISC is designed with triple-action varnish removal technology and was formulated to be highly compatible with modern high-quality lubricants to minimize the risks of an incomplete drain or rinse. A quick and effective way to help you restore equipment performance to its peak while maintaining outstanding reliability and productivity.

 

It has been specifically designed to eliminate or reduce the negative attributes of previously cleaners in the system. In addition to that, it helps maximize the ease and effectiveness of chemical cleaning when it comes to the removal of varnish.

With VARTECH ISC, turbines and centrifugal compressor maintain their online status and their productivity, micro-particles gradually get removed to avoid overwhelming other components such as the filters. Compatibility with the in-service oil can allow longer residence time for stubborn varnish causing no operation constraints while saving time and money.

Contact the experts at Caltex to help you tackle precisely the right lubrication program to protect your equipment.

Paul Sly
Paul Sly is a Technical Advisor for Chevron with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and CLS and OMA-1 certifications in the lubricants field. His career includes 13 years at Caterpillar Engine Division and 18 years at Chevron, including managing the ISOCLEAN contamination control program for the past decade and as Chevron’s top field specialist in the power generation industry for both turbine and reciprocating engine applications. This field experience has built his reputation as a subject matter expert in turbine oil, including varnish issues, hydraulics, gas engines, compressors and gear boxes supporting Chevron and customer operations around the globe.

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