Water In Oil

What's The Big Deal?

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Water In Oil, What's the Big Deal?

Waterrepresentsarealrisktoequipmentand
shouldbeaggressivelycontrolled.Moisturein
hydraulicfluidsandlubricatingoilshasa
degradingeffectonboththelubricantandthe
machine.Althoughsomeadditivesclingtothe
waterandareremovedwhenthewater
separatesfromtheoil(knownaswater
washing),othersaredestroyedbywater
inducedchemicalreactions(oxidationand
hydrolysis).Wateralsopromotesoxidationof
theoilsbasestock,increasingtheriskofsludge
andvarnishformation.Wateralsocausesrust
andcorrosionofmachinesurfacesandreduces
critical,loadbearingfilmstrength.
Watercoexistswithoilinadissolved,
emulsified,orfreestate.Freeandemulsified
waterposethegreatestrisktothemachineand
thelubricant,andtheyshouldbecarefully
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
demulsibilityshouldbemonitoredtoensure
Contamination

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?
water.Additivesandimpuritiesthatlowerthe
Herearesomequestionstothinkaboutto
oil'ssurfacetensioncanserveasagentsto helpyoudecidewhichtesttorequest:
strengthentheemulsion.Waterisinafree
Whatisthedetectionlimitforthe
statewhenundissolvedglobulesofwaterare test?
physicallysuspendedintheoil.
Doesthedetectionlimitchange
dependingonthelubricanttype?
Foryears,oilanalysislaboratorieshave
Doyouknowwhatyourlimitsfor
screenedsampleswiththecrackletest, watershouldbe?
performingmoredetailedanalysis,suchasthe
Howimportantisittoknowany
KarlFischertest,onlywhenthecrackletestis
watercontamination?
positive.
Aredetectionlimitsabovemy

condemnationlimits?
Inthecrackletest,adropofoilisplacedona

hotplatethathasbeenheatedtoapproximately

400F.Thesamplethenbubbles,spits,crackles,

orpopswhenmoistureispresent.Ifthecrackle
Thefollowingsectionsexplainthesideeffects
testisnegative,itsimplymeansthatthelevelof
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.

Lowest Highest
OILTYPE SamplesTested DetectionLimit(ppm)
Positive(ppm) 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
WindTurbine
(Optigear) 35 7801070 780 1070
Combined 493 1001830 100 1830

Make sure you understand the detection limits for the

crackle test and know your lubricants tolerance for water.
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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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About TestOil
TestOilisafullserviceoiltestinglaboratory
ownedbyInsightServices.Since1988the
laboratoryhasbeenprovidingfastandreliable
oilanalysisresultsacrossallindustries
throughouttheAmericas.
Thefirmscomprehensiverangeofoilanalysis
servicesassistsreliabilityengineerswith
conditionmonitoringandidentificationof
machinewear.
TestOilemploysasophisticateddiagnostic
technologythatassiststheirMachineCondition
Analystsinmakingequipmentandlubrication
conditionassessments.

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