Oil should stop trouble at mills

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Dec 16, 2005

Shell Lubricants develops Morlina SD oil for use in steel mill bearing oil circulating systems.

Shell Lubricants has developed Morlina SD oil for use in steel mill bearing oil circulating systems.

It is designed to reduce system costs, downtime and maintenance, and meets Morgan's Morgoil advanced lubricant specification, commonly referred to in the industry as the Super Demulsibility specification.

In developing Morlina SD, the circulating oil underwent testing and field trials to assess the water separation properties at normal mill operating temperatures.

The field trials also tested its water separation characteristics over extended periods of service.

The specification outlines criteria that must be met in rust protection, oxidation resistance, viscosity and foaming, along with demonstrated in-field performance.

Panot Triroj, Shell Global Industrial Lubricants Metals Sector Manager, said: "Water contamination in oil can affect the life of bearings and pumps in a mill, as well as induce rust, oxidation and contamination build-up, which can lead to high maintenance costs".

"Morlina SD is formulated to resist emulsification and shed water faster at lower temperatures than conventional circulating oils - even in extreme conditions".

"When used with good maintenance practices at mills where systems were heavily contaminated with water, it exhibited faster water separation, which aided in significantly reducing bearing failure rates and resulted in less oil being drained out of the system during water removal".