Dedicated, Continuous Conditioning of Lubricating Oils to Extend Equipment Life and Prevent Lost Production Time, 2003 Fall Technical Conference

Moisture ingression into lubrication and hydraulic fluids can be a significant issue for the normal operation of pulp and paper facilities. Roll bearings are one of the most critical components in a paper machine. It is common for there to be 80-140 roll bearings in a single machine, with the direct replacement cost of each individual bearing being approximately $10,000 plus labor. If a bearing were to fail in service, causing an unscheduled shutdown, another $100,000-$200,000 of lost production could result. So, with the large number of these critical bearings in a typical machine, the annual cost of repairs due to oil contamination will easily reach $250K-$1MM or more. If moisture and other contaminants can be kept out of the oil on a continuous basis, these unnecessary plant expenses can be dramatically reduced.

An innovative dehydration technology has recently been developed that enables free and dissolved moisture to be separated from lubrication and hydraulic fluids on a continuous basis without interfering with normal production machinery operation. The process utilizes the principles of mass transfer to enable all of the moisture within the oil to pass through the dehydrator into a dry air stream, which is then discharged from the device.

The key to making this technology economical for equipment of all sizes and all water ingression conditions is that the dehydrator can be scaled to meet the specific requirements of the application. In addition, it has been designed for continuous, dedicated operation. As a result, systems are scaled to remove moisture at the same rate in which it enters the process, rather than at the much higher rates required from remediation devices that are only used periodically.