Gear oil revolution

Global water, energy and maintenance solutions provider NCH Europe has launched an innovative gear oil solution that uses calcium-sulphonate technologies. The company’s new three step gear oil programme works to ensure optimum lubrication and cost effective maintenance, topped up with a gear oil, which uses a calcium-sulphonate base to offer better corrosion protection than typical gear oils.

Machinery breakages are one of the biggest issues affecting the mining, industrial manufacturing and marine engineering sectors. This is often due to poor lubrication and an ineffective approach to gear oil maintenance, which reduce both equipment life span and the quality of the oil itself.

NCH Europe’s revolutionary three step gear oil programme addresses these issues, simplifying the process to ensure the end user can make the most of their machinery and equipment. The three steps involve using the NCH Oil Service Programme (NOSP), removing deposit buildup and then using an effective oil.

“Surprisingly, only 20% of oil changes happen at the right time,” explained Mark Burnett, VP of the Lubricants and Fuel Additives Innovation Platform at NCH Europe. “This means the majority of businesses are either risking their machinery by changing oil too late or changing too early and accumulating unnecessary costs. Our gear oil programme not only allows engineers to identify the right time to change their oil, but also outlines a way to extend the life of both the machinery and the replacement oil itself. In following the steps, companies can develop an effective and cost efficient approach to oil.”

NOSP identifies the best time to change oil using precise analysis methods. This prevents machinery breakdowns and downtime, while also helping the end user avoid unnecessary costs caused by changing oil too soon. It also provides accurate reports each time that a change is due.

Cleaning a system before refilling with oil prevents contaminants forming deposits, which can block machines leading to an increase in energy consumption and temperature. Using NCH Europe’s Advanced Technology Flush and Clean prevents this by dissolving deposits and neutralising acids, while also cleaning metal surfaces to reduce system wear.

“It’s not uncommon for some engineers to cut corners and miss out the cleaning stage,” continued Burnett. “In doing this, contaminants will build up in the system and cause problems for the machine. Without cleaning the system, fresh gear oil becomes contaminated and less effective within hours.”

The final step in the oil change programme is the use of an effective gear oil. In order to provide maximum lubrication while also addressing industry issues such as corrosion and dry starts, NCH Europe developed Top Blend CS.

Top Blend CS is able to repel water to drastically slow the rate of corrosion, while the built-in acid neutralisers and oxidative inhibitors prevent the chemical break down that leads to oil acidity. This greatly extends the lifespan of gears and seals, saving companies money in the long run.

Top Blend CS also addresses the problems of dry starts and foaming. The calcium-sulphonate make-up of Top Blend CS resolves these with anti-foam technology and adhesive cohesive polymers; the latter prevents dry starts by allowing oil to cling to gear surfaces during shut down.

This three step gear oil programme is just one of many solutions being launched by NCH Europe’s Innovation Platforms in 2016. The Lubricants and Fuel Additives Platform alone will be launching four new products to tackle a range of industry issues.

Adapted from press release by Francesca Brindle

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/14072016/nch-europe-develop-calcium-sulphonate-gear-programme-3710/