dissolved water

In some applications e.g. marine, steel and paper industries, ingress of water is a major problem, and removal of water in oil can become a necessity. In order to avoid excessive amount of free water settling out in bearings and gears, special oils with the ability to hold water suspended, have been developed e.g. oil for paper machines.

Water can be dissolved in oil in two ways:

• Suspended and tied up until the oil’s saturation point (typically between 200 – 600 ppm water, depending on oil type)

• Emulsions – colloidal suspended water in levels above the saturation point

For optimal protection of machine components the water content should not exceed 30% of the saturation point. Emulsions of water/oil occur mainly due to shear forces in machinery e.g. in pumps, gears and valves.

The problems caused by emulsified water are similar to those of free water i.e. corrosion, cavitation, micro-pitting and oil degradation. Degraded oil only separates water poorly, because the oxidation products (acid, aldehydes, ketones) are polar and encapsulate water droplets, hindering merging of drops and separation by gravitation.

CJC® Filter Separators and CJC® Desorbers remove water in oil. Desorbers are used for oil types which create emulsions, while Filter Separators are used for oil types which will let water separate out by gravity.

Water in oil - solution:

For effective removal of water in oil, use CJC® Filter Separators for eg.: 

• Thrusters
• Steam Turbines etc.

For effective removal of larger amounts of water in oil use CJC® Desorbers for eg.:

• Paper Machines
• Steel Industries etc.