The installation of distribution transformers in environmentally sensitive areas is a growing concern of electric utilities, and everywhere it sees a strong local resistance. Special and costly measures must be taken to address this concern, for example, by reducing the risk of transformer oils being inadvertently released into the environment. To solve this problem, promising natural esters based on edible oil-seeds were studied in the last few decades to ascertain their suitability based on industry-recognized standards. Some common natural esters available today in the transformer oil market are mostly produced from seeds of soybean, rapeseed, sunflower, and others [1–5]. However, due to the inherent disadvantage of high pour point, coconut oil has been sidelined for many years. Recent research on the coconut oil indicates that this can be used as a dielectric liquid at a distribution level transformer in a tropical region. Unlike main seed oil, the use of coconut oil in a transformer has not yet started despite its superior dielectric and physicochemical properties. It is a totally biodegradable and edible vegetable oil. Prototype transformers filled with coconut oil are in operation in Sri Lanka since 2001 where it has been studied satisfactorily by the researchers [6]. The superior oxidation stability, non-toxicity, and good dielectric properties of coconut oil are previously well known but no detailed comparison has been published on the electrical, thermal, and physicochemical properties of coconut oil, commercial natural esters, and mineral oil. This paper aims to present a comparison of the relative advantages, limitations, and scope of coconut oil for use in a transformer.

中文翻译：

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椰子油在配电变压器中作为介电液体的潜力

在环境敏感地区安装配电变压器是电力公司日益关注的问题，并且在任何地方都遇到了强烈的当地阻力。必须采取特殊和昂贵的措施来解决这个问题，例如，通过降低变压器油无意中释放到环境中的风险。为了解决这个问题，在过去的几十年里，人们研究了基于食用油种子的有前途的天然酯，以根据行业认可的标准确定它们的适用性。目前变压器油市场上的一些常见天然酯主要由大豆、油菜籽、向日葵等 [1-5] 的种子制成。然而，由于高倾点的先天缺点，椰子油多年来一直处于边缘地位。最近对椰子油的研究表明，它可以用作热带地区配电液位变压器的电介质液体。与主要种子油不同，尽管椰子油具有优异的介电和物理化学特性，但尚未开始在变压器中使用椰子油。它是一种完全可生物降解的食用植物油。自 2001 年以来，斯里兰卡就开始使用充满椰子油的原型变压器，研究人员对其进行了令人满意的研究 [6]。椰子油优越的氧化稳定性、无毒和良好的介电性能以前是众所周知的，但尚未发表关于椰子油、商业天然酯和矿物油的电、热和物理化学性质的详细比较。本文旨在比较相对优势，