Varnish Issues? Shell Can Help

Over time the lubricant you use to ensure the smooth running of your turbine, through system stresses, will degrade into varnish precursors. If not properly managed, these precursors will accumulate to a level that is beyond the oil’s capacity to keep them in solution. Once the solubility limit is exceeded the oil will deposit varnish on the internal surfaces of the lubrication system.

The formation of varnish and sludge deposits on system components can negatively impact their function and even cause failure. Not only does this negatively impact turbine performance, but these deposits can be costly to eliminate once formed.

It’s important to select a lubricating oil with excellent resistance to oxidation and thermal degradation, as well as good varnish solvency. In addition to that, you’ll want to use a comprehensive oil condition monitoring (OCM) program to track your oils varnish tendency to stay ahead of any potential varnish formation. As your oil ages it may be necessary to employ additional mitigation techniques to keep your system varnish-free such as varnish filtration and varnish solvency enhancers.

Dealing with varnish once it forms can be an expensive process requiring additional maintenance, such as high-velocity flushing between oil change-outs. With Shell EcoSafe Revive, however, you can eliminate the need for these additional steps – helping to improve operational efficiency while reducing maintenance costs.

A synthetic-based solvency enhancer, Shell EcoSafe Revive can mitigate the issues caused by varnish by increasing the ability of your turbine oils to dissolve varnish and oxidation by-products.

With the Shell Turbo range of high-performance turbine oils, you can reduce the risk of equipment failure, prevent unplanned downtime and even avoid costly replacements. Formulated with our innovative gas-to-liquid (GTL) base oil technology, Shell Turbo S4 provides strong resistance to thermal degradation, excellent solvency, maximum system efficiency, and extended oil life.

Shell EcoSafe turbine and EHC fluids are formulated with polyalkylene glycol (PAG) base oil technology and provide best in class solvency. These products have excellent hydrolytic and thermal stability and provide varnish free and extended drain capability in turbine and EHC lubrication systems.