Canola oil: A renewable and sustainable green dielectric liquid for transformer insulation

In the last decades, vegetable-based insulating liquids, derived from plant seeds, have emerged as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional petroleum-based mineral insulating oils. These vegetable oils exhibit excellent characteristics for high-voltage insulation, including remarkable high-temperature stability, as evident in their flash and fire points. Furthermore, their high water absorption capacity may serve to safeguard the integrity of paper insulation within transformers. However, their practical application is limited to sealed transformers due to their susceptibility to oxidation. Additionally, using these oils in regions with low temperatures presents challenges because of their poor flow properties under cold conditions. Canola oil, derived from canola seeds, offers a balanced set of properties, particularly concerning pour point and oxidation stability, attributable to its unique fatty acid composition. This study reviews deeply into the potential, prospects, and possible enhancements that can be applied to canola oil. Significant tutorial elements as well as some analyses are included. The aim is to reveal the deep attributes of canola oil as a suitable insulating liquid for both free-breathing and hermetically sealed transformers, while also ensuring it serves as an efficient cooling medium for transformers operating in extremely cold environments. Of the many properties examined, this review pays particular attention to oxidation stability and the flow characteristics of the oil. •Plant-based insulating liquids are environmentally friendly and sustainable.•Canola oil is a potential alternative to mineral-based insulating liquids.•Cooling and oxidative stability enhancement of plant-based oil for insulation.•Useful life, recyclability, and advantage of canola oil in transformer insulation.