Water In Oil

What's The Big Deal?

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Page1

Water In Oil, What's the Big Deal?

Waterrepresentsarealrisktoequipmentand

theoilsbasestock,increasingtheriskofsludge

shouldbeaggressivelycontrolled.Moisturein

andvarnishformation.Wateralsocausesrust

hydraulicfluidsandlubricatingoilshasa

andcorrosionofmachinesurfacesandreduces

degradingeffectonboththelubricantandthe

critical,loadbearingfilmstrength.

machine.Althoughsomeadditivesclingtothe

waterandareremovedwhenthewater

Watercoexistswithoilinadissolved,

separatesfromtheoil(knownaswater

emulsified,orfreestate.Freeandemulsified

washing),othersaredestroyedbywater

waterposethegreatestrisktothemachineand

inducedchemicalreactions(oxidationand

thelubricant,andtheyshouldbecarefully

hydrolysis).Wateralsopromotesoxidationof

monitoredandcontrolled.

Three Forms of Water

1.

Dissolvedwaterreferstowaterthathasbeenchemicallyabsorbedintotheoil.Whiledissolved
waterpossessesnodirectthreattothecomponentbeinglubricated,itspresencecanserveasa
catalysttooxidation.Dissolvedwaterisnormallynotvisibleinanoil.

2. Emulsifiedwateriswaterthatmaintainsitschemicalintegrity,butisheldinsuspensioninthe
oilbyadditivesandcontaminants.Emulsifiedwaterwillseverelyaltertheloadhandlingability
ofanoil.Whentemperatureandpressureareappliedtoacontaminatedfluid,theoxidation
processissignificantlyaccelerated,leadingtoprematuredegradation.Internalcorrosionand
rustwillalsoresultinallareasofthesystem.Whenanoilhasemulsifiedwater,itwilltakeona
hazyormilkyappearance.

3. Freewaterdescribeswaterthatispresentintheoil,butnotheldinsuspension.Sinceoiland
waterdontmix,anoilsbasestockwillbeconstantlytryingtoseparatefromwater.Without
additivesorcontaminantstobondwiththewater,itwillseparaterapidlyandsettletothe
bottomoftheoil.Freewaterwillbevisibleinanoilasaseparatephaseatthebottomoftheoil
reservoir.

system.Watercancontaminateasystemby

Effects on Lubrication

condensationwhenmoistairentersthe

Ingeneral,waterisapoorlubricant.Proper

componentandachangeintemperaturecauses

lubricationisdependentontheformationofan

thewatertocondenseanddropintotheoil.

oilfilmtoseparateopposingfrictionsurfaces.

Watercanalsoenterasystemthroughnon

Whenpressureisappliedtoanoilfilm,theoils

dryingbreathers,faultyhatchesandseals,and

viscositywillincreaseproportionallytomaintain

internallyfromleakingheatexchangers.

protection.Waterdoesnotexhibitthis

tendencyandwillcauseboundarylubricationto

Second,stepsmustbetakentoremovewater

occurwherefullfluidfilmlubricationwould

onceithasenteredasystem.Thiscanbe

otherwisebepresent.

accomplishedwithphysicalfiltration,vacuum
dehydrationorcentrifuge.Forsystemsprone

Alarm Limits

tocontamination,thesetypesofpurification

Waterisconsideredtobeamongthemost

canbeinstalledinthesystemtoremovewater

detrimentalofpossiblecontaminants.Studies

continuouslyorondemand.

haveshownthatwaterpresentatanylevelcan

reducebearinglifefrom10to100times.While

Systemsthatarepronetowatercontamination

theoveralltoleranceforwatervariesfrom

shoulduseanoilthatrapidlyseparatesfrom

machinetomachine,agoodgeneralalarmlimit

water.Anoilsabilitytoseparatefromwateris

forwatercontaminationis0.05%(500ppm).

knownasitsdemulsibility.Highdetergentoils

Somesystemsmaybemoretoleranttowater,

tendtobepoordemulsifiers,whileturbineoils

whileothersmaybemoresensitive.Some

andmanyindustriallubricantshavebetter

manufacturershavesetlimitsaslowas30ppm.

demulsibility.Circulatingsystemsproneto

Bestpracticewouldtendtoindicatethatitis

waterinflux,suchasthosefoundinrollingmills

beneficialtokeepwatercontaminationatthe

andpowergenerationplants,cansimplydrain

lowestlevelpossible.

thewaterfromthereservoirtocontrol
contamination,providedtheoilexhibitsgood
demulsibility.Inthesesituations,theoils

Controlling Water
Contamination

demulsibilityshouldbemonitoredtoensure

thatwatercontaminationdoesnotreachthe

Controllingwatercontaminationrequirestwo

lubricatedcomponents.

individualconsiderations.First,wemust
addresstheissueofkeepingwateroutofthe
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Screening for Moisture: Crackle Test

Oneoftheeasiestwaystomeasurethe

Thecrackleisnotascientifictestbutan

presenceoffreeandemulsifiedwaterinoilis

estimatethatisaffectedbyoiltype.

withthehotplatecrackletest.Anemulsionis

thestablestateofphysicalcoexistenceof

chemicallyinsolublesubstances,likeoiland

KarlFischerorCrackle?

Herearesomequestionstothinkaboutto
helpyoudecidewhichtesttorequest:

Whatisthedetectionlimitforthe
test?

Doesthedetectionlimitchange
dependingonthelubricanttype?

Doyouknowwhatyourlimitsfor
watershouldbe?

Howimportantisittoknowany
watercontamination?

Aredetectionlimitsabovemy
condemnationlimits?

water.Additivesandimpuritiesthatlowerthe
oil'ssurfacetensioncanserveasagentsto
strengthentheemulsion.Waterisinafree
statewhenundissolvedglobulesofwaterare
physicallysuspendedintheoil.

Foryears,oilanalysislaboratorieshave
screenedsampleswiththecrackletest,
performingmoredetailedanalysis,suchasthe
KarlFischertest,onlywhenthecrackletestis
positive.

Inthecrackletest,adropofoilisplacedona
hotplatethathasbeenheatedtoapproximately
400F.Thesamplethenbubbles,spits,crackles,

orpopswhenmoistureispresent.Ifthecrackle
testisnegative,itsimplymeansthatthelevelof

Thefollowingsectionsexplainthesideeffects
ofwaterinoilanddescribeastudyperformed

waterpresentinthesampleisbelowthe

byTestOilanalyststomeasurethe

detectionlimit;itdoesntnecessarilymeanthe

effectivenessofthecrackletest.

sampleisvoidofwater.

Sometimesthecrackletestmaynotbe

appropriateandyouwouldneedaKarlFischer

testdoneonallsamplesfromthatmachine.

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Check Out The Limitations of The Crackle Test

Inanefforttocommunicatethelimitationsof

Thelowestpositivevaluesrepresentthose

thecrackletestindetectingwater

samplesthatexhibitedapositivecrackleand

contamination,TestOilembarkedonalabstudy

theassociatedKarlFischerresultwhilethe

touncovercrackledetectionlimits.Atotalof

highestnegativevaluesrepresentthose

493samplescomprisedofavarietyoflubricant

samplesthatclearlyhadwaterpresent

typeswererunona400Fhotplate.The

accordingtotheKarlFischerresults,yetdidnt

sampleswereassessedforapositiveor

crackle.Clearly,thestudydemonstratesthat

negativecrackle.Thesesamesampleswere

quiteabitofvarianceexistsinthewater

thenanalyzedforwatercontaminationusinga

detectionlimitofthecrackletest.Youreally

KarlFischertitration(ASTMD6304C).The

needtoknowyourlubricanttypebefore

waterresultswererecordedinpartspermillion

makingassumptionsonwhatthecracklecan

(ppm).Thetablebelowsummarizestheresults

detect.Insomecases,yourwaterlimitsmayfall

ofthestudy.Thetablelistsoiltype,thenumber

belowcrackledetectionandrunningtheKarl

ofsamplesinthestudy,thedetectionlimit

Fischertestoneverysamplemaybeworththe

range,thelowestnegativecracklevalue,and

cost.

thehighestpositivecracklevalue.

OILTYPE

SamplesTested

DetectionLimit(ppm)

Lowest
Positive(ppm)

Highest
Negative(ppm)

Turbine

111

110610

110

610

MineralGear

62

2401190

240

1190

SyntheticGear

86

100460

100

460

AWHydraulic

86

320750

320

750

PolyolEster

36

3401830

340

1830

PhosphateEster

37

4501140

450

1140

Engine

40

320580

320

580

(Optigear)

35

7801070

780

1070

Combined

493

1001830

100

1830

WindTurbine

Make sure you understand the detection limits for the

crackle test and know your lubricants tolerance for water.
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Page5

Quantifying the Amount of Water: Karl Fischer Water Test

Ifacrackletest(seetheprecedingsection)is

hydrocarbons,alcohols,andethers.Note:

positive,furthertestingisneededintheformof

AnalysisofketonesmustemployaKarlFischer

theKarlFischerWaterTest.TheKarlFischer

solutionthatisspecificallyformulatedfor

coulometricmoisturetestisaseriesofchemical

ketoneanalysis.

reactionsdiscoveredin1935bytheGerman

chemistKarlFischer.Thismethodanalyzes

Lowlevelsofwater(lessthan2percent)are

waterinthemicrogramorpartpermillion

typicallytheresultofcondensation.Higher

range.Thistestisveryaccurate,to.001%.

levelscanindicateasourceofwateringress.

WaterdeterminationbyKarlFischerisdefined

Watercanenterasystemthroughseals,

inASTMD6304.

breathers,hatches,andfillcaps.Internalleaks

fromheatexchangersandwaterjacketsare

Forthistest,asampleofoilisintroducedintoa

otherpotentialsources.

titrationvesselinknownmassorvolume.Any
waterpresentinthesamplewillreactwith

Remember This...

iodineinthetitrationvessel.Theamountof

Whenfreewaterispresentinoil,itposesa

iodinerequiredtoreactwiththewaterandthe

seriousthreattotheequipment.Waterisavery

knownmassorvolumeofthesampleareused

poorlubricantandpromotesrustandcorrosion

tocalculatetheamountofwaterpresentinthe

tothecomponents.Dissolvedwaterinanoil

sample.Resultscanbeclearlyexpressedin

promotesoiloxidationandreducestheload

percentorpartspermillion.

handlingabilityoftheoil.Watercontamination

canalsocausetheoilsadditivepackageto

Anelectriccurrentpassesthroughagenerator

precipitate.Waterinanyformcauses

containingaKarlFischersolution.Iodineis

acceleratedwear,increasedfriction,andhigh

producedattheanodethatconsumesthe

operatingtemperatures.Ifleftunchecked,

waterintheintroducedsample.Whenan

watercanleadtoprematurecomponent

excessofiodineisdetected,theanalysisis

failure.

complete.Inchoosingthismethod,makesure
thattestspecimensarecompatiblewiththe
chosenreagentandthatnosidereactions
occur.Thismethodistypicallyusedtoanalyze

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Page6

About TestOil
TestOilisafullserviceoiltestinglaboratory

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ownedbyInsightServices.Since1988the

machinewear.

laboratoryhasbeenprovidingfastandreliable

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TestOilemploysasophisticateddiagnostic

throughouttheAmericas.

technologythatassiststheirMachineCondition

Analystsinmakingequipmentandlubrication

Thefirmscomprehensiverangeofoilanalysis

conditionassessments.

servicesassistsreliabilityengineerswith

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