News from Japan

It is estimated that worldwide annual consumption of insulating oil in electrical apparatus could now be as high as 1 million kiloliters, mostly in the form of mineral oil extracted from petroleum. While mineral oil has excellent cooling and insulation properties, its supply has become unreliable because of the depletion of petroleum resources. Furthermore, exhaust of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere following mineral oil combustion is now considered environmentally undesirable. The increase in public environmental consciousness has spurred efforts to end the worldwide dependence on petroleum, and this in turn has created a demand for the development of high-performance plant-based alternatives. The Japanese chemical company Lion Corporation, and Japan AE Power Systems Corporation, a business partnership company of Hitachi, Fuji Electric and Meidensha, have jointly developed a new type of insulating oil that is environment-friendly and has high insulation performance. It is palm fatty acid ester (PFAE), made from palm oil,and transformers using this oil went on sale in June 2009.