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Portland District

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Demonstration

In a June 3, 2002, broadcast, Portland television station KGW attempted to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the oil-water separator at the Bonneville Dam first powerhouse. KGW used heavy motor oil in their demonstration, which is misleading.

The oil-water separators at Bonneville Dam's powerhouses are mostly separating water from the turbine oil used to operate the hydraulic parts within the generators. Turbine oil and motor oil serve two different purposes and are formulated quite differently. Motor oil does not easily separate when violently mixed with water; turbine oil is specially formulated to quickly separate from water.

Below, we have replicated the KGW demonstration. The left and right jars contain the turbine oils used at Bonneville Dam. The middle jar contains used motor oil (the type of oil KGW used). Each jar contains equal parts oil and water.

After shaking the jars to mix the contents, we photographed the results begining 4 seconds after mixing. Photos were taken every couple of seconds with the last photo taken 1 minute after mixing. The turbine oil quickly separates from the water, while the motor oil remains mixed. The yellow spots in the left jar (the jar containing the turbine oil) are small amounts of oil that have clung to the sides of the jar during separation.

The KGW demonstration failed to accurately show what is happening at Bonneville Dam. Using heavy motor oil rather than the actual turbine oil used at the dam only misleads the public. KGW never approached the Corps for technical advice or a sample of the turbine oil used at Bonneville Dam, which the Corps would have willingly provided to ensure an accurate portrayal of the situation.

For this demonstration, we used Shell Turbo T68, used in Bonneville's powerhouse #1 and Mobil DTE Series Oil, used in Bonneville's powerhouse #2, and automobile motor oil (we substituted this oil for the unknown brand and type of motor oil used by KGW).

Place your cursor over each photo to see the elapsed time. Clicking on the photo will open a larger version.

Oil/Water Sample 4 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 5 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 6 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 7 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 8 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 9.5 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 11.5 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 16 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 18 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 20.5 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 24 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 26 Seconds After Mixing 
Oil/Water Sample 29 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 31.5 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 34.5 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 36 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 39 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 42 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 44 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 47.5 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 51 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 54 Seconds After Mixing
Oil/Water Sample 56 Seconds After Mixing Oil/Water Sample 1 minute After Mixing

Content POC: Public Affairs Office, 503-808-4510 | Technical POC: NWP Webmaster | Last updated: 4/25/2008 11:28:39 AM

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