Possibility of Circulating Oil Indefinitely

SKF RecondOil’s technology, which removes even the smallest impurities from circulating oil, is now available in a compact form. The RecondOil Box is a smaller version of SKF’s industrial scale DST systems, which have previously been applied in large applications in metal working and quenching. The smaller system is suitable for a broader range of industries and applications, to name a few: general manufacturing pulp and paper production; metal production; metal processing and energy production.

While conventional filters typically only remove particles in the micron range, the RecondOil Box features Double Separation Technology (DST), which can remove particles down to nano-size from an oil. It acts as a mechanical ‘kidney’ in a machine’s oil circulation system, where it regenerates the oil by progressively removing contaminants, and then returning the oil back into circulation. As the oil is in a closed loop, it’s kept at a highly clean state continuously.

Double benefits

By keeping the oil continuously clean, RecondOil Box can significantly extend oil change intervals. “When DST-regeneration is combined with lubrication management and condition monitoring, oil can be circulated and re-used for much longer,” says Erik Råwall, Programme Manager at SKF. “Sometimes, it can be circulated indefinitely, allowing a circular use of oil.”

So, as well as reducing the cost of replacing oil, it delivers an environmental benefit. A life cycle analysis performed by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute calculated the climate impact of a conventional oil cycle at 3,830 kg CO2 equivalent per m3 of oil – compared with 8.2 kg CO2-eq with RecondOil Box.

The nano-clean oil can also improve machine performance across a range of applications. As well as filtering out impurities, it removes free, emulsified and bound water. It also prevents premature oil degradation by removing oxidation products and soluble and insoluble varnish.

 www.skf.com