Hydraulic and Pneumatic Accessories:environmental fluids

environmental fluids

The environmental effects of hydraulic leaks can be large. Leaked oil permeates down through the ground, eventually reaching the water table where it can spread beyond the boundaries of the offending plant. The growing interest in the environment has therefore led to the introduction of hydraulic fluids with minimal environmental impact. There are two considerations: toxicity, which is the harm that fluid can cause to animals and plants, and biodegradability, which describes the speed at which the fluid changes to innocuous products.

Three different base oils are used as environmentally safe hydraulic fluids. The commonest, and cheapest, is vegetable oil (such as rape seed oil). This has excellent natural biodegradability. In most environmentally sensitive applications vegetable oil is the main choice.

Other oil types are polyglycols and synthetic esters. These are more expensive than vegetable oil, markedly so for synthetic esters, and are not as environ- mentally friendly. They are used where the characteristics of vegetable oil, such as a limited temperature range and poor water tolerance, preclude its use. They can also be used as a blend with vegetable oil.

Whichever base oil is used additives will still be required to provide lubrica- tion, reduce foaming, etc. These additives must also have low toxicity and be biodegradable.

Incoming search terms:

Related posts:

Benefits, drawbacks and operational issues:Resonance and rotor dynamics
Applied Pneumatics:Circuit analysis
Compressed Air Transmission and Treatment:Regulating valves
THE COMPRESSOR:HEAT EXCHANGERS AND COOLERS.
Design procedures:Logic diagram for system design
Conveying capability:High pressure conveying – Part IV
COMPRESSORS:Axial Compressors
HYDRAULIC FLUIDS:Density and Compressibility
Maintenance and troubleshooting:Prevention of premature hydraulic component failure
PROPERTIES OF PURE SUBSTANCES:INTERNAL ENERGY, ENTHALPY, AND SPECIFIC HEATS OF SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS
THE SECOND LA W OF THERMODYNAMICS:THE CARNOT CYCLE
THE SECOND LA W OF THERMODYNAMICS:THE CARNOT REFRIGERATOR AND HEAT PUMP
ENTROPY:REVERSIBLE STEADY-FLOW WORK
RADIATION HEAT TRANSFER:THE VIEW FACTOR
NATURAL CONVECTION:NATURAL CONVECTION FROM FINNED SURFACES AND PCBs

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *