Highly effective graphene membrane for transformer oil purification

Abstract

A highly effective adsorbent comprised of the Graphene membrane was created using the sonification method in this study. For all we know, the resulting Graphene membrane was employed as an adsorbent for transformer oil purification for the first time. The quality of the treated oil was evaluated through several factors, such as acid number TAN(mg KOH/g), color, breakdown voltage, and viscosity.  The results indicated that the Graphene membrane exceeded the other commercial adsorbents in terms of purifying capacity. Several reasons, including the unreduced oxygen functional groups, vacancy defects on the surface of the Graphene flake, the high specific surface area, and the proper pore size of the Graphene membrane for oil refining, might explain this exceptional outcome. Furthermore, the 3D structure of the Graphene membrane can extend the residence purification time of the transformer oil, assisting in the improvement of the purification capability of the Graphene membrane.