Varnish deposits on internal surfaces in turbine lube systems result in a number of adverse operational issues, especially the restriction and sticking of the moving parts of servo- or directional control valves, resulting in their malfunction. The lubrication fluid has limited solvency for the varnish-forming material, hence a typical turbine will have the majority of this material as deposits and a relatively small portion as suspension in the fluid phase, in quasi-equilibrium with the deposits. The lube system needs to be cleaned by removing the suspended varnish-forming material from the fluid phase, which allows the deposits to re-entrain into the fluid phase, until the majority of the transferable deposits are removed and the fluid carries no significant amount of the material to have any adverse effect. The methods used for the removal of varnish from turbine lube systems include chemical cleaning/flushing, electrostatic charge induced agglomeration/retention, and the adsorption of the varnish suspended in the oil on an adsorbent medium. The paper discusses an absorption-based removal method that utilizes a fibrous medium that has pronounced affinity for the removal and retention of the varnish-forming material from the fluid as well as the deposits from surfaces that are in quasi-equilibrium with the varnish precursors in the fluid. The filtration medium is a composite, made with cellulose bonded by specially formulated, temperature-cured resins. The absorptive medium exhibits high structural and chemical integrity and has been thoroughly tested on operating turbines, showing reduction in varnish levels from the critical range to below normal range in a relatively short time. The experience with the utilization of the absorptive medium in laboratory tests and in two operating turbines is presented.
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