A method for treating metal wear debris in a wind turbine gear oil

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of lubricating oil purification, in particular to a method for treating metal abrasion in wind power gear oil, which comprises adding a treating agent to preheated oil for constant temperature reaction, and then obtaining purified oil through constant temperature reaction, sedimentation, adsorption and filtration. The method reduces the viscosity of the initial oil by preheating, which helps the treating agent to diffuse in the oil. Then the treating agent reacts with iron, copper and other metal ions contained in DL-malic acid, and forms stable water-soluble complexes under constant temperature reaction, thereby converting solid abrasion particles into separable liquid complexes. Finally, sedimentation, adsorption and filtration are used to ensure that the oil cleanliness meets the standard. The method is simple to operate and the raw materials are easy to obtain, which can achieve the purpose of removing iron and copper ions from lubricating oil, and is worth popularizing and applying.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of lubricating oil purification technology, specifically a method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil. Background Technology

[0002] Lubricating oil plays a vital role in equipment operation, providing lubrication, cooling, and protection. When metallic impurities are present in the lubricating oil, these impurities catalyze the cracking and deterioration of hydrocarbon-based lubricating oils. As equipment operates over time, various acidic deteriorating substances are produced, which in turn corrode the metal components of the equipment, creating a vicious cycle. Furthermore, the deteriorated oil eventually forms sludge, which affects lubrication and heat dissipation, and in more severe cases, can cause pitting corrosion or even equipment damage.

[0003] Metal impurities in lubricating oil mainly originate from four aspects: First, newly extracted crude oil contains a large amount of metal impurities, and if not handled properly in subsequent cleaning and impurity removal processes, a small amount of metal impurities will remain in the lubricating oil; Second, wear between various parts during equipment operation will cause metal on the equipment to exist in the lubricating oil in the form of particulate matter; Third, with the long-term operation of the equipment, the deterioration of the lubricating oil will produce acidic substances that will corrode the metal parts of the equipment, causing metal impurities to exist in the lubricating oil in the form of ionic or organometallic compounds; Fourth, external contamination, including metal impurities introduced by additives, dust, etc.

[0004] According to historical monitoring data on metallic impurities in lubricating oil, iron is the most significant element causing excessive levels of metallic impurities, followed by copper. Excessive levels of other metallic elements are not common. Iron and copper impurities in lubricating oil exist primarily in two forms: as metallic particles and as compounds. Iron and copper particles in lubricating oil can be removed through magnetic filtration and fine filtration; however, to date, there are no publicly available reports on the method for removing iron and copper ions from lubricating oil proposed in this application. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the problems in the prior art, this invention provides a method for treating metallic wear materials in wind turbine gear oil.

[0006] This invention is achieved through the following technical solution: A method for treating metallic wear materials in wind turbine gear oil involves adding a treatment agent to preheated oil and conducting a constant-temperature reaction, followed by constant-temperature reaction, sedimentation, adsorption, and filtration to obtain purified oil.

[0007] Preferably, the preheating temperature is 80~110℃.

[0008] Preferably, the treatment agent is prepared by adding 10 parts of ethanol to 1 part of DL-malic acid to form a DL-malic acid ethanol solution.

[0009] Preferably, the ethanol is industrial ethanol with a volume concentration of 50% to 99%.

[0010] Preferably, the amount of treatment agent added is 2% to 10% of the oil mass.

[0011] Preferably, during the constant temperature reaction, the oil temperature is maintained at 80~110℃, and the mixture is stirred for 30~120 minutes.

[0012] Preferably, the settlement conditions are heat preservation and natural settlement, and the settlement time is 4~16 hours.

[0013] Preferably, during adsorption, the adsorbent material is γ-alumina with a mesh size of 200-300, the amount of adsorbent material is 2%-8% of the mass of the oil, and the adsorption time is 30-90 min.

[0014] Preferably, the pore size of the filter material is 5~10μm during filtration.

[0015] Preferably, the iron ion content in the purified oil is less than 25 ppm and the copper ion content is less than 1 ppm.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: This invention discloses a method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil. The method involves reacting preheated oil (80-110°C) with a treatment agent formulated from DL-malic acid and ethanol at a constant temperature of 80-110°C with stirring for 30-120 minutes. This process converts the metallic wear particles into separable complexes. The mixture is then allowed to settle naturally for 4-16 hours, adsorbed with 200-300 mesh γ-alumina for 30-90 minutes, and finally filtered through a precision filter with a pore size of 5-10 μm. The resulting purified oil has an iron ion content reduced to 20-25 ppm and a copper ion content reduced to 0.3-0.7 ppm, enabling the oil to be purified and reused. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification.

[0018] This invention can be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. These embodiments are provided so as to fully and completely disclose the invention and to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0019] Unless otherwise stated, the terms used herein (including technical terms) have their common meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, it is understood that terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be understood to have a meaning consistent with the context of their relevant field, and not to be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning.

[0020] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. These descriptions are for explanation purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0021] This invention discloses a method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil. A treatment agent is added to preheated oil for a isothermal reaction, followed by isothermal reaction, sedimentation, adsorption, and filtration to obtain purified oil. The specific steps are as follows: Step 1: Detection of iron and copper ion content in lubricating oil to obtain the initial iron and copper ion content of the oil.

[0022] Step 2, preparation of the treatment agent: The treatment agent is prepared by adding 10 parts of ethanol to 1 part of DL-malic acid to form a DL-malic acid ethanol solution, wherein the ethanol is industrial ethanol with a volume concentration of 50%~99%.

[0023] Step 3: Preheat the initial oil to a temperature of 80~110℃.

[0024] Step 4: Add the treatment agent to the preheated initial oil. The amount of treatment agent added is 2% to 10% of the oil mass.

[0025] Step 5: After adding the treatment agent, keep the oil at 80~110℃ and stir for 30~120 minutes to carry out a constant temperature reaction.

[0026] Step 6: After the constant temperature reaction, maintain the oil temperature at 80-110℃ and allow it to settle naturally for 4-16 hours.

[0027] Step 7: Take the supernatant of the settled oil and add 2%~8% (by weight of the oil) of adsorbent material for adsorption for 30~90 minutes to obtain the adsorbed oil. The adsorbent material is 200~300 mesh γ-alumina.

[0028] Step 8: Filter the adsorbed oil using a filter material with a pore size of 5-10 μm to obtain purified oil. The purified oil contains less than 25 ppm of iron ions and less than 1 ppm of copper ions.

[0029] Example 1 1) The iron and copper ion content of the lubricating oil sample to be purified was detected. The iron ion content was 141 ppm and the copper ion content was 8 ppm. 2) Preparation of the treatment agent: Weigh 10g of DL-malic acid and dissolve it in 100g of 95% ethanol; 3) Preheat 100g of oil with iron and copper ion levels exceeding the standard limit to 80℃; 4) Add 5g of treatment agent to the preheated lubricating oil; 5) Maintain the oil temperature at 80℃ and stir thoroughly for 60 minutes; 6) Maintain oil temperature at 80°C and allow it to settle naturally for 8 hours; 7) Take the supernatant of the settled lubricating oil and add 3% of the lubricating oil mass of 200-300 mesh γ-alumina to it, and stir for 50 min; 8) The lubricating oil adsorbed by γ-alumina was filtered using a filter material with a pore size of 5~10μm to obtain a purified oil with an iron ion content of 23ppm and a copper ion content of 0.4ppm.

[0030] Example 2 1) The iron and copper ion content of the lubricating oil sample to be purified was detected. The iron ion content was 103 ppm and the copper ion content was 12 ppm. 2) Preparation of the treatment agent: Weigh 10g of DL-malic acid and dissolve it in 100g of 95% ethanol; 3) Preheat 100g of oil with iron and copper ion levels exceeding the standard limit to 80℃; 4) Add 2g of treatment agent to the preheated lubricating oil; 5) Maintain the oil temperature at 80℃ and stir thoroughly for 60 minutes; 6) Maintain oil temperature at 80°C and allow it to settle naturally for 8 hours; 7) Take the supernatant of the settled lubricating oil and add 3% of the lubricating oil mass of 200-300 mesh γ-alumina to it, and stir for 50 min; 8) The lubricating oil adsorbed by γ-alumina was filtered using a filter material with a pore size of 5~10μm to obtain a purified oil with an iron ion content of 12.3ppm and a copper ion content of 0.37ppm.

[0031] Example 3 1) The iron and copper ion content of the lubricating oil sample to be purified was detected. The iron ion content was 168 ppm and the copper ion content was 17 ppm. 2) Preparation of the treatment agent: Weigh 10g of DL-malic acid and dissolve it in 100g of 95% ethanol; 3) Preheat 100g of oil with iron and copper ion levels exceeding the standard limit to 80℃; 4) Add 8g of treatment agent to the preheated lubricating oil; 5) Maintain the oil temperature at 80℃ and stir thoroughly for 60 minutes; 6) Maintain oil temperature at 80°C and allow it to settle naturally for 8 hours; 7) Take the supernatant of the settled lubricating oil and add 3% of the lubricating oil mass of 200-300 mesh γ-alumina to it, and stir for 50 min; 8) The lubricating oil adsorbed by γ-alumina was filtered using a filter material with a pore size of 5~10μm to obtain a purified oil with an iron ion content of 24.7ppm and a copper ion content of 0.65ppm.

[0032] This invention discloses a method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil. Preheating reduces the initial oil viscosity, facilitating the diffusion of the treatment agent. The treatment agent is then added, where the multiple carboxyl groups in DL-malic acid react with iron, copper, and other metal ions to form stable water-soluble complexes under isothermal conditions. This transforms solid-phase wear particles into separable liquid-phase complexes. Separation is achieved by using sedimentation to create solid-liquid stratification based on the density difference between the complexes and the oil. Residual polar complexes and fine colloids are then adsorbed using an adsorbent material. Finally, filtration removes residual fine particles and adsorbent powder after sedimentation and adsorption, ensuring the oil cleanliness meets standards. This method is simple to operate, uses readily available raw materials, and effectively removes iron and copper ions from lubricating oil, making it worthy of widespread application.

[0033] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the technical solution of the present invention in any way. Those skilled in the art should understand that, without departing from the spirit and principles of the present invention, the technical solution can be modified and replaced in several simple ways, and these modifications and replacements are all within the scope of protection covered by the claims.

Claims

1. A method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil, characterized in that, A treatment agent is added to the preheated oil and a constant-temperature reaction is carried out. The purified oil is then obtained through constant-temperature reaction, sedimentation, adsorption and filtration.

2. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preheating temperature is 80~110℃.

3. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The treatment agent is prepared by adding 10 parts of ethanol to 1 part of DL-malic acid to form a DL-malic acid ethanol solution.

4. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 3, characterized in that, The ethanol is industrial ethanol with a volume concentration of 50% to 99%.

5. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The amount of treatment agent added is 2% to 10% of the oil mass.

6. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 1, characterized in that, During the constant temperature reaction, the oil temperature is maintained at 80~110℃, and the mixture is stirred for 30~120 minutes.

7. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The settlement conditions are heat preservation and natural settlement, and the settlement time is 4~16 hours.

8. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 1, characterized in that, During adsorption, the adsorbent material is 200~300 mesh γ-alumina, the amount of adsorbent material is 2%~8% of the oil mass, and the adsorption time is 30~90 min.

9. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 1, characterized in that, During filtration, the pore size of the filter material is 5~10μm.

10. The method for treating metallic wear particles in wind turbine gear oil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The iron ion content in the purified oil is less than 25 ppm, and the copper ion content is less than 1 ppm.